
POCKET EDfTIOff 





Class _ 

Book ^g 

Copyright N?. 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Still Alive and Still Champion 

From "The Farmer's Voice" for January, 1906. 




The famous racer "Jay Eye See" as he is today. 



There are few owners and lovers of horse flesh familiar with racing 
records of the past decade, who would need to be told, even with the 
above picture removed, what the cabalistic "Jay Eye See" stands for. 
This spelling: out of the initials of a great manufacturer of the last 
generation was once a name to conjure with; and even yet it is widely 
known as the appellation of one of the most remarkable little horses 
that ever trod the turf. But there are very few people indeed, outside 
of those living- in Racine, Wis., who know, and who will not be greatly 
surprised to know, that this famous little horse is still alive. That, 
however, is the fact, vouched for not only by divers and sundry reputable 
persons, but by the camera-that-cannot-lie as well. The photograph 
which accompanies this article was taken last summer. It shows that 
Jay Eye See is not only in existence, but very much alive, and still 
handsome enough for any gentlemen to drive — if he were allowed 
the privilege. 



For no harness Is ever put on Jay Eye See's back. His Is a horse's 
paradise. Nothing is required of him hut that he live and enjoy himself. 
This is an unusual distinction even for a blooded horse, and the steps 
by which Jay Eye See has attained it are interesting. 

He came to Mr. J. I. Case as a colt in 1878 — was one of a bunch of 
horses purchased by that gentleman in Kentucky, the lot also including 
Phallas, the trotting stallion. Jay Eye See. therefore, at the present 
writing, is 28 rears old. It used to be told of him by his trainer, Ed. 
Bither, that Jay Eye See was about the awkwardest horse he ever struck, 
and the hardest to break in. It required great perseverance to get him 
to trot at all, and Bither has said that he came near giving up the job 
many times before the horse finally began to show form in 1883. In 
that year he was entered in several races and made good showings. The 
next year, 1884, at Providence. R. I., he made his famous record of 2:10 
to an old style high- wheeled sulky, the best mile that had been trotted 
up to that time. 

There are two curious things about that record. The first is, that 
it scarcely became 24 hours old— Maud S. lowered it next day. The 
second is, that* as a part of Jay Eye See's right in his title, it still stands. 
For Jay Eye See. notwithstanding he never again raced in competition, 
is still the champion combination trotter and pacer of the world. 

It was eight years after the Providence performance, in 1892. when 
Mr. Case's son Jackson conceived the idea of teaching Jay Eye See to 
pace. The hobbles were accordingly brought out and the little horse 
was hooked up. But the hobbles worried and fretted him so that Mr. 
Case ordered them taken off before a quarter of a mile had been covered. 
Then came the surprise. When Mr. Case got back into the sulky. Jay 
Eye See immediately began to pace— and he was a pacer ever after. 

That is what he wanted to be in the beginning— he was a natural 
born pacer, and that is why his trainers had such a hard time getting 
him to trot. There is no telling what records might have come Jay 
Eye See's way, if only he had been allowed to pick his own gait sooner. 
In 1893. with only one sound leg under him, he went against time at 
Independence, Iowa, and paced the mile in 2:0QH. This gave him the 
title previously referred to and he still holds it. Horses have since 
trotted faster than 2:10 and others have paced faster than 2:06Ji, but 
no one horse has ever done both. 

There are a great many horse owners who have no compunctions 
whatever about selling an animal as soon as it ceases to be a big money 
maker; J. I. Case, Sr., however, was not that type of man. At one time 
he was offered $50,000 for Jay Eye See, but he would not even consider 
it. His horses were something more to him than mere financial Invest- 
ments—he loved them for their own sakes. Jay Eye See remained his 
owner's favorite when his racing days were over as he had been before, 
and Mr. Case never ceased to find pleasure in his ownership of the little 
horse. Since the death of his son, Jackson Case, Jay Eye See has never 
been harnessed. 

Jay Eye See is held in trust by the J. I. Case Plow Works, of Racine, 
Wis,, which is owned and controlled by Mr- H. M. Wallis, the president 
of the Company, and the heirs of J. I. Case, Mr. Wallis is a son-in-law 
of the original J. I. Case, and to him we are indebted for the above 
interesting particulars. 

"And," says Mr. Wallis. "Jay Eye See wrs not the only record- 
breaker J. I. Case gave his name to. He also founded a factory for the 
purpose of making record-breaking farm implements— and we are still 
making them today, under the same name and in the same factory. 



The Plow of 




Is a tongueless plow that plows straight and plows right under 
every kind of condition and with every kind of team. It has a 
unique and original hitch in connection with a landing lever 
which gives you absolute control of the landing of your plow at 
all times. If the team happens to crowd one way or the other, 
a slight movement of the lever affects a change of draft and holds 
ihe plow to its work, maintaining a straight and uniform furrow. 
In throwing dirt uphill, this landing lever prevents the bottom 
from running in too far. In throwing dirt down hill, it holds 
the plow to its work, without having to continually guide the 
team, and it gives perfect control for width of cut at all times as 
stated . 

But these are not all of the important points of superiority 
of the Spinner Sulky by any means. Ask your nearest J. I. C. 
dealer about the rest of them, or write direct to us for catalogue. 

J. I. GISE PLOW WORKS, Raclm,Wb. 




THE FARMER'S FAVORITE. 

The- J. I. Case Triumph is the farmer's favorite because it is the 
lightest draft Sulky Plow ever invented. This has been repeatedly 
demonstrated and proven in fields all over this country. It is accom- 
plished by the adjustment provided for carrying the bottom in such a 
position in the ground as to carry the rear of the landside up from the 
bottom of the furrow and away from the furrow bank. This adjust- 
ment is an exclusive J. I. Case feature. 

That feature, together with the fact that both furrow wheels are 
always under control of the pole by means of a spring connection, 
so that the plow is handled just like a wagon, makes it exceedingly 
light on the horses. 

The Triumph is also easy on the driver, because only one motion 
of one lever is necessary to raise or lower the bottom and at the same 
time level the frame. The J. I. Case Triumph therefore is a labor 
saver for both man and horse, 

Another important point to remember is that the Triumph enters 
the ground point first and heel up. and it comes out point first and 
heel down— just like a walking plow. And when the plow bottom is in 
the ground, it will stay in and plow ground so hard that no other 
make of moldboard plow can handle it successfully. The real test 
for a sulky plow is when the ground is so hard that a walking plow 
cannot be used— then watch the J. I. Case Triumph. You will find it 
does the work when the other much boasted hard ground sulkies are 
in the shed with the walking plows. Mark well our claim— the 
J. I. Case Triumph will plow hard ground. 

Let us tell you more about it. Ask for our printed matter. 



J. I. 



J. I. CASE^sriFOOT-LIFT 
SULKY PLOW 




What is accomplished in the Triumph Sulky Plow with one motion 
of one hand lever, is accomplished in the J. I. Case Self-Leveling- High 
Foot Lift Sulky Plow with one motion of the Foot Lever, viz- it raises 
or lowers the bottom and levels the frame with one operation. 

And. remember, it raises the bottom clear up into the frame— six 
inches above the ground. Other foot lift plows lift the bottom in- 
dependently of the frame (and then only two or three inches above the 
ground) which makes it necessary to manipulate one or more hand 
levers in addition to the foot lever in order to raise the bottom six 
inches and level the frame, and this has to be done at the end of each 
furrow, making it tiresome for the operator. In the J. I. Case the 
operation is more simple and easier. The plow bottom is lifted from 
plowing position six or more inches in the ground to full six inches out 
of the ground by one movement of the foot lever, and more— is leveled 
by the same movement. Hence in the J. I. C. Foot Lift you have not 
only a High Foot Lift in fact but a Self-Leveling High Foot Lift. 

This SELF-LEVELING HIGH FOOT LIFT feature is a J. I. Case 
improvement. 

These are several of the distinctive J. I. C. features. For further 
Information apply to our nearest dealer or write 

J. I. CASE PLOW WORKS, Racine, Wis. 



J. I. CASE TEXAS CASE, 



COMBINED CULTIVATOR. 



Strong, Durable and 
Up-to-date. 




THE GANGS are made of extra heavy steel pipe, specially manu- 
factured for us, and repeated tests have shown that they are much 
stronger than gangs made of extra heavy gas pipe, such as are com- 
monly used in other makes of cultivators. 

LONG DISTANCE AXLES— The wheels have capped hubs which 
keep the dirt out. In greasing wheel is not removed, simply the cap 
unscrewed, filled with grease and screwed on again. This forces the 
old grease out and keeps wheel perfectly lubricated for days. This is 
another point of J. I. Case quality. 

POLE ADJUSTMENT.— The rear end of the pole is equipped with 
a clevis casting so that it can be raised or lowered, thus adjusting the 
front ends of the gangs for penetration. This often saves separate 
adjustment of each shovel. 

THE BALANCE LEVER can be conveniently operated from the 
seat. With it all neck weight is removed from the team, 

THE JOCKEY gives quick adjustment for spread of Gangs, without 
the operator leaving the seat. 

These are some of the reasons why you should buy the Texas Case, 
Jr, cultivator, but there are more of them— fully explained in our 
Texas catalogue. It is free. Write for it. 

J. I. CASE PLOW WORKS, Racine, Wit. 



J. I. C. COTTON AND 
CORN PLANTER. 




The biggest yield from every field is partly due to the use of 
the right implements. This one gives it. St works right in hard 
or soft, rough or smooth ground. 

Note LU[iu^ijMlP**Rear Shovels are carried on springs independent 
this HsIb? of sweep and opening shovels. They can be used 
special Wr"*** floating or locked down and can be depressed by 
J. I. C. feature, the foot to cover in low places. One movement 
of lever raises or lowers all working parts and 
throws dropping device in or out of gear. When parts are up there is 
good clearance. Can plant on ridge or in furrow without change of parts. 
Operator can see seed dropping and knows how machine is working. 
Dropping device is gear driven and always works and distributes seed 
evenly. J. I. C. is the most COMPACT Cotton and Corn Planter. 
MADE ONLY BY 

J. I. CASE PLOW WORKS, RaclM, Wis. 



J. I. CASE DISC HARROW 




The Scrapers are the slicer style, which scrape the dirt from 
the center of the disc to the outer edge, and when not being 
operated, rest at or near the center of the disc, and in that 
position prevent the dirt from sticking to the disc. For sticky 
ground they are the best scrapers known. 

Chilled Ring Bearings are used on the J. I. Case Disc Har- 
row, which are in every way the best bearings yet devised for a 
Disc Harrow, Because 

They wear longer: 

They do not clog: up or work loose; 

They are easier, lighter draft; 

And another important advantage is they cost less. J. I. Case 
Chilled Ring Bearings are worth 20 cents per pair, or four pair 
to the harrow, 80 cents. Other makes range from 40 to 75 cents 
per pair. At 40 cents, per pair, a full Bet would cost $1.60, and 
at 75 cents per pair, $3.00. 

The difference in cost, in favor of the J. I. Case harrow 
Bearing is from 80 cents to $2.20 per harrow. 

Insist on getting a J. I. Case the next time. Made by 

J. I. CASE PLOW WORKS, Racine, Wis. 



J. i. CASE EDGE DROP 

PI J&MTE 



Better Crops and Bigger Crops 

are certain wjth it. 
Actual tests in the field prove this. 




"Half The Crop Bs In The Drop" 

and J. I. C. surpasses all others in accuracy of drop. 
The corn never wedges, the valves cannot clog. The 
plates being shaft driven, and the clutch certain in 
action, the movement of the plates is positive. 
The wire having only to operate valves and clutch 
the strain on same is light — hence it lasts longer. 
The check is perfect regardless of speed of team. 
No change of parls'm changing from hill to drill drop. 

It Is strong, durable and light. Works right, 
plants right and does it all the time. 

You need one if you want accuracy of drop. 
Remember, "Half the Crop is in the Drop." 

Made only by 

J. I; CASE PLOW WORKS - RACINE, WIS. 



J. I. Case TRIUMPH £?2£ 




J. I. CASE 



COMPETITOR'S 



Vs. 



Plows 8 Miles in half 
a day with 4 horses. 



Plows 6J4 Miles in half 
a day with 5 Horses. 



DIFFERENCE 



In favor of the J. I. Case Triumph in one day's 
plowing: Three Miles and One Horse. 



That was the experience of two brothers in Missouri, 
whose names and address we will furnish on 
application. What better argument can we offer 
in favor of the Light Draft qualities of the J. I. C. 
Triumph? We have more evidence if you want it. 

Sole Manufacturers : 

J. I. CASE PLOW WORKS - Racine, Wis. 



E RIDING 



Long Swinging 
Easy Dodging Gangs, 
High Arch, 

good clearance and 
View of row ahead. 



Seat Low and 
Well Back, 
Balance Lever 

within easy reach 
of Operator. 



Double Lifting Springs make gangs easy to handle and 
yet work perfectly while cushion effect permits the gang to 
be forced down when crossing dead furrows, etc. 

independent Depth Adjuster permits depth of each 
gang to be independently adjusted for working on side hills 
and in dead furrows. 

Telescope Axle gives adjustable width of wheels. 




Gangs can be adjusted up or dowss, in or out, to 

change their distance apart and regulate suction so shovels will 
always go into the ground whatever its conditions. 
Adjustable Shovel Standards, shovels can be set as desired. 1 
Perfect Lubricating Capped Wheel Hub keeps dirt out,! 
forces old grease out and keeps wheel perfectly lubricated for 
days and then it is only necessary to remove cap, fill it with 
grease and screw it on again. 

A Cultivator that does the best work with 
the least tabor on the part of Operator. 



rfiade 

by 



J. I. CSSE PLOW WORKS, Racine, Wis. 




FARM IMPLEME 

WITH AN INDIVIDUALITY OF THEIR 



Each Machine Has Points of Merit That 
Are Strictly J. I. Case Features 

The implements described in the preceding pages are but a 
few of our most representative products. The J. I. Case line 
includes all styles of walking, sulky and gang Plows; Middle 
Bursters, walking and riding Listers, Harrows, Disc Planters, 
Cotton and Corn Planters, Drills, Cultivators, Stalkcutters, 
Transplanters, etc. 

These implements are remarkable in many ways, but the 
most remarkable thing about them, and the thing that should 
interest you most, is what they will! do. 

J. I. Case implements have become famous because they 
give superior results in the field; and the reason for these 
results is — J. I. Case method. We employ the highest priced 
experts, and buy the best materials we can get; but back of all 
this is the experience of our organization, which keeps them 
ahead of all competition. 

The evidence that we have an exclusive method is the fact 
that nearly every implement that we make has features not 
found in any similar implement of other make. And these fea- 
tures are not experiments, but tried and proven successes. 

If you are interested in implements that not only look good 
on the dealer's floor; but make good in actual service as 
well, let us send you our new catalog. It is a demonstration of 
"Case quality" that will surprise you. It shows why J. I. Case 
implements do more work in less time, while requiring the min- 
imum expenditure for labor and repairs; and it proves that 
they do it. 

Catalog is free for the asking. Address 

J. I. CASE PLOW WORKS - Racine, Wis. 



The 





By 

CLIFFORD MANNING 



EDITORS 

GENERAL : Dewitt C. Wing, Editorial Staff, "Breeder's 
Gazette" 

CORN : Prof. P. G. Holden, Iowa State College 

and Experiment Station. 

COTTON : Prof. R. L. Bennett, Cotton Expert, Texas 
Experiment Station. 

WHEAT: C. P. Bull, Assistant Agriculturist, Minne- 
sota Experiment Station. 

HOGS : A. J. Lovejoy, Roscoe, Illinois. 

SHEEP : Jos. E. Wing, Author of "The Winter 
Lamb," and "Sheep Farming in America." 

POULTRY: Miller Purvis, Peotone, Illinois. 

BEES : Holverson Bros., Durand, Illinois. 



Published by 

J. I. CASE PLOW WORKS 

RACINE. WISCONSIN 



rf 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Codes Received 

JAN 15 1906 

CoDyriffht Entry 
h^w- a 7. / 9d 5~ 
CLASS Oc XXC No, 

13X616 
COPY B. 



^ 



\K 



*> 



' 



COPYRIGHT. 1905. 

BY 

J. I. CASE PLOW WORKS. 



PREFACE 



The idea of this work is to group together the more 
important facts of farming in a plain and compact guide 
for reference. The farmer who has not time to study 
through the larger publications and select what he 
wants will find here a great deal of information in a 
small space and yet specific enough for his purpose. 

What can be done in the way of securing better crops 
by proper selection of seed, soil, cultivation, etc.; the re- 
sults obtainable from proper feeding and caring for farm 
animals, and many other problems of the farm, garden, 
or dairy are often unknown to and unsolved by the 
farmer, only because new methods are not tried. Prog- 
ress never comes from clinging to old methods, and new 
crops, new methods of cultivation, new schemes for feed- 
ing are sure to increase the knowledge of the experimen- 
ter, as well as swell his bank account. 

To quote a specific instance: If the information here 
given on the important subject "Corn," enables the farmer 
to increase his yield but one bushel per acre he has been 
repaid a thousand times in cash for the time he spent in 
gaining his information, and has aded to his store of 
knowledge facts that will earn him — by each year's in- 
creased yield — a handsome sum indeed. 

Too, it is fair to assume that of the millions of dol- 
lars lost through disease and insect pests, a large part 
might have been saved by the application of tried methods 
cf prevention. The timely use of an efficacious remedy 



may keep an entire herd or flock from extinction, and one 
successful treatment destroying or warding off insect 
pests may save an entire crop, the value of which runs 
into thousands of dollars. 

These two aims, the increase due to the right crop 
being grown in favorable soil under correct methods of 
cultivation, and, the insurance of a crop through pre- 
ventative measures, have been kept in mind in that part of 
the work dealing with field, garden, and orchard crops. In 
the part treating of live stock, poultry, and other animal 
life, the same thought has been borne in mind, that right 
methods of breeding, feeding, and growth on the one hand, 
and sanitary and protective measures on the other, are 
what the farmer most needs. 

The whole, it is confidently believed, makes a concise 
treatise to which the experienced farmer, orchardist, or 
herdsman may satisfactorily refer, as well as being of 
exact use to the beginner. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PART I— FIELD CROPS AND GRASSES. 



Alfalfa 7 

Alsike Clover 8 

Barley 8 

Barnyard Grass 10 

Buckwheat 10 

Cabbage 11 

Clover 12 

Corn 15 

Corn Breeding 24 

Corn, Diseases and Ene- 
mies of 28 

Cotton 30 

Crab Grass 34 

Cowpea 35 

Crimson Clover 36 

Flax 36 

Foxtail Millets 38 

Hops 39 

Kaffir Corn 40 

Oats 40 

Onion 42 

Popcorn 44 



Potato 45 

Rape 48 

Red Clover 48 

Red Fescue 49 

Redtop 49 

Rescue Grass 49 

Rice 49 

Rye 52 

Sand Vetch 52 

Sorghum 53 

Soy Bean 54 

Sugar Cane 54 

Sugar Beet 55 

Sweet Potato 55 

Tall Oat-Grass 58 

Teosinte 58 

Texas Bluegrass 58 

Timothy 58 

Tobacco 59 

Wheat 61 



PART II.— GARDEN CROPS. 



Artichoke 71 

Asparagus 71 

Beans 71 

Beets 72 

Broccoli 73 

Brussels Sprouts 73 

Carrots 73 

Cauliflower 73 

Celery 73 

Chard r <4 

Collard 74 

Cresses 75 

Cucumbers 75 

Citron 75 



Dandelion 75 

Egg Plant 76 

Endive 76 

Garlic 76 

Ginseng 76 

Ground Cherry 76 

Horse-Radish 77 

Kale 77 

Kohlrabi 77 

Leeks 77 

Lettuc« 77 

Martyuia 7$ 

Melons 78 

Mint 73. 



Mushroom 78 

Mustard 79 

Okra 79 

Parsley 79 

Parsnips 79 

Peanut 80 

Peas 80 

Peppers 80 



Pumpkins 80 

Radishes 81 

Rhubarb 81 

Rutabagas 81 

Salsify 82 

Squash 82 

Tomato 82 

Turnips 83 



PART III.— LIVE STOCK AND DAIRYING. 



Beef 83 

Cattle 85 

Dairying 90 

Feeding Farm Animals. . . 93 

Goat 94 

Hog 95 



Horse 100 

Mule 105 

Sheep 105 

Pedigree Registry Associa- 
tions 109 



PART IV.— POULTRY AND BEES. 



Poultry 114 

Turkeys 122 

Ducks 124 

Geese 126 



Pigeons 127 

Rabbits 127 

Beekeeping 127 



PART V.— MISCELLANEOUS. 

Administration of Medicine. 130 Propagation and Planting 

Insectides 131 Table 133 

Planting Table 132 Medicines for the Horse. .135 

Gestation Table 134 Data Regarding Breeding. 136 



The Farmer's Encyclopedia 

PART I 
FIELD CROPS AND GRASSES 



ALFALFA: 

Common name of lucerne, a clover-like, leguminous 
forage plant. It may be grown in practically any part 
of the United States. In many sections red clover is 
grown instead of alfalfa, but, where the rainfall is scant, 
alfalfa is of greater value. 

Soil. — Any well-drained soil produces good alfalfa, but 
the best results are had from rich sandy loams, clay and 
wet lands being fatal to a long stand. As a good catch 
can be used indefinitely — 25 or 50 years without renewal — 
this is important. Plowing should be deep, care being taken 
that there are few weeds, as they would choke out the young 
plants, which do not mature for three years. 

Seeding. — Different climates require different treat- 
ments. It may be sown as soon as the danger from frost 
is over in the northern states; in the south it is planted 
in September or February, while in California and adjacent 
states from August to December 15, and from February 
to April is the rule. 

In the north and east the seed is sown broadcast, requir- 
ing 20 to 25 pounds of seed, when a forage crop is wanted; 
if drilled in for a seed crop one-half as much seed is suffi- 
cient. High mowing is necessary to prevent the crop going 
to seed and to kill weeds. This mowing must be some 
time before final frosts the first year, or the plants will 
winterkill. 

In the irrigation sections the crop does well, but plants 
will be destroyed if water stands on them over two days. 

Harvesting. — Alfalfa makes the best hay if cut whri 
first blooming. It should be handled like clover, which 



8 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

see. From 2 to 6 cuttings may be had per season, depend- 
ing upon the locality. Five tons per acre cured hay is 
a common yield, while 5 to 10 bushels of seed may be 
reckoned upon. The second crop is usually the one har- 
vested, being cut when the pods show dark brown. Some 
growers prefer a binder for harvesting and the use of the 
machine is rapidly coming into use. 

Use. — Like clover, alfalfa is an excellent fertilizer, while 
its food value is first-class. For young stock, especially 
hogs and sheep, there is no better food than alfalfa hay. 
The same care should be taken in pasturing cattle and 
sheep on young or wet alfalfa as on clover. 

Diseases and Enemies. — Alfalfa is subject to root-rot, 
a fungous growth working downward from the surface 
of the ground. It is best met by crop rotation, by trench- 
ing the infected area or by an application of kerosene or 
salt. Leaf spot, in which brown spots of irregular growth 
form on the leaves on their upper surface, is the disease 
most destructive to alfalfa. It is best to burn over the 
field each fall to avoid infection of next year's crop. Cut 
worms also attack alfalfa. Treatment for cut worms 
will be found under corn. Dodder, small, twining, almost 
leafless plants, which destroy alfalfa by suctorial roots, 
may be killed by mowing before the plant blossoms. The 
space should then be burned over, or if it be considerable 
the field should be plowed and put into a different crop. 
Screening will prevent the seed being planted with alfalfa 
which should be carefully watched for the smaller seeds. 

ALSIKE CLOVER: 

Favorably known and widely cultivated in mixtures for 
meadows and pastures, especially in low and wet marshy 
ones in the Middle and New England states. In the South 
it is not so successful nor so highly valued. It is never 
advisable to sow alsike alone because a better and larger 
amount of forage is produced when it is grown with 
grasses. It may be sown with oats to advantage. Redtop 
and alsike are as much a standard mixture for wet mead- 
ows as timothy and red clover for the better and drier 
uplands. 

BARLEY: 

Species of grain used especially for making malt, from 
which are prepared beer, ale, and porter, also used ex- 
tensively for stock feeding, and to some extent for human 
food. It matures as far north as Canada. 



BARLEY. 9 

The first state in the production of barley is California. 
The following states also yield extensive quantities, in the 
order named: Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Iowa 
and South Dakota. 

Soil. — To obtain a good malt barley it should be grown 
on a light loose soil, preferably that containing lime. When 
the ground is a clay or clay loam a larger quantity of 
grain is obtained. For market purposes malting barley is 
generally preferred as a better seller. Barley requires 
a deep plowing and soil pulverized and is a good crop to 
follow another for which the land has been well fertilized. 
Seeding. — The time of seeding depends upon the locality. 
In the North it is sown between spring wheat and oats, 
the plants being sensitive to frost and also subject to dam- 
age by drouth or bad weather. In the South barley i3 
grown for pasturing rather than for seed, being sown in 
September or early in October. This makes it an excellent 
pasture. It may be pastured in the winter as well as in 
the fall and spring. When broadcasted or on rich soil, 
10 pecks to the acre is ample and when conditions are 
not so favorable 8 pecks is sufficient. The seed should 
be put in about 3 inches in depth. 

Fertilizing. — A grain having little protein but rich in 
starch, may be grown on a light soil well fertilized. The 
purpose of the crop must be kept in mind in fertilizing 
as different soils and fertilizers produce grain suited for 
different purposes. 

Barley is grown more for feed every year and less for 
sale. There has been a prejudice against it because difficult 
to handle and often if not well threshed contains beards 
which are injurious to stock. This, however, is remedied 
by better threshing methods. 

Harvesting. — As the color of the grain affects the price 
where it is to be sold for malting, attention must be paid 
to the color which the grain will show when threshed. 
Dark grain is not favored, the highest price being paid 
for bright. Grain cut late is liable to be dark, a good 
time being about two days after the grain is in the dough. 
The grain will be discolored by heavy dews or rain 
and should be carefully shocked and stacked as soon as 
possible. The West produces the best and brightest barley 
for malting purposes, as there is little dew and few rains 
to discolor it. 

Varieties. — There are two classes of barleys: the hulled 
and hulless. Hulled barleys are two, four and six-rowed, 
the two-rowed variety being held the best for malting. 



10 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

For feeding the six-rowed is best. Hulless barley is grown 
only for feeding purposes, the main varieties being the 
white and the black. 

Value for Feeding. — Barley ranks about the same as 
wheat or corn as a grain for feeding. Its feeding value 
is possibly somewhat more than that of oats. It is best 
fed ground and usually good results are had by feeding 
with ground corn. When fed to horses, however, the 
hulled grain is preferable. Hogs grown for bacon do par- 
ticularly well when fed on barley. 

It is not necessary to take such care in harvesting barley 
for feed, as discolored grain is of as much use for feed as 
though it were perfectly clear. Barley grown for hay 
is not of great feeding quality and is only put in where 
other plants do not mature. 

Enemies. — There are two kinds of smut which render 
barley worthless — covered smut and naked smut. It at- 
tacks the kernels, massing them together in a form which 
hardly separates when threshed. Naked smut is similar 
to covered smut but breaks apart as soon as the kernels 
mature. To treat smut in barley seed it should be given 
a preliminary soaking of from 4 to 8 hours, then be sub- 
jected to hot water at 132 degrees F. for five minutes. 

Besides the smuts attacking barley it is subject to 
ergot, rust, joint worm, Hessian fly and grain aphis. 

BARNYARD GRASS: 

Requires a rich and somewhat moist soil. It is coarse 
and succulent, and is not easily cured into hay, but it is 
quite valuable for soiling and for the silo, as it yields 
heavily, and produces an unusual amount of seed. 

BUCKWHEAT: 

A minor grain grown principally for flour. It is some- 
times grown as a honey plant and sometimes for green 
manure. The greater part of the buckwheat crop of the 
United States comes from New York and Pennsylvania, 
though the other states grow small amounts. 

Seeding. — Buckwheat is planted late and is often sowed 
where corn or some other crop has failed. It matures in 
about 70 days. The seed may be either drilled or broad- 
casted, from two to three pecks being sown per acre. 

Harvesting. — The grain ripens unevenly and it is best 
to cut the crop soon after the first seeds ripen. It is 



CABBAGE. 11 

usually threshed in the fall, as it cannot be stacked be- 
cause it draws moisture and is thereby damaged. 

Yield. — Good ground yields about 40 bushels per acre. 

CABBAGE: 

A cole crop, grown for the dense rosette or head of 
leaves. Grown commercially on an extensive scale in many 
parts of the country, and large profits are often realized. 
Net returns in excess of $100 per acre are frequent among 
experienced growers near good markets. 

Soil. — A deep soil which is cool and has the power to 
hold an abundance of moisture is to be preferred. Sandy 
loams are almost ideal. Any land for cabbage must be 
thoroughly drained. There is no danger of making land 
too rich for this crop. About 30 loads of good stable 
manure may be applied per acre. About half of this- 
amount should be applied and plowed under and the other 
applied after the soil is plowed and its incorporation with 
the land effected by means of harrowing. Very coarse 
manure cannot be so applied. 

Seeding. — For early planting in gardens, seed may be 
sown in shallow boxes kept in the house and the plants 
transplanted at the proper time. Fall or mid- season varie- 
ties are sown in beds outdoors and the plants removed 
when ready to transplant. Commercial growers sow the 
seed for early planting in hotbeds and transplant from 
them as soon as weather conditions seem to warrant. 
Plants are made hardy by removing the sash a short time 
every other day for a week or ten days before planting. 
Plants are set from early spring until about the first of 
July in Wisconsin and other northern locations. The 
Imported Holland seed, also the Danish, is grown exten- 
sively in that region for market. It should be planted 
about 30 inches apart each way. The ground is marked 
off with a marker similar in form to a common hand hay- 
rake. Four to six ounces of seed are required per acre. 

Transplanting. — Commercial growers use a transplant- 
ing machine which will set from 30,000 to 45,000 
plants in a day, or about 3 to 5 acres. It is a most 
ingenious machine, requiring two men to feed the plants 
into it. The plants are then handled by the machine or 
the fingers, as they are called, and placed in the ground 
and at the same time there is an automatic arrangement 
whereby a iet of water is poured on the ground just where 
the plant has been set. These machines are thoroughly 
practical and they can be bought at a reasonable figure, 
and it will pay even the small grower to use them. 



12 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Cultivation. — Hand cultivators are used only on very 
•small places. Where cabbage is grown largely the two- 
•acre walking or riding cultivator is used. Prominent 
manufacturers of implements have recently provided a 
closer range of adjustment, so that cabbage may now be 
cultivated the same as corn. 

Harvesting. — Commercial growers prefer to sell the 
•crop in the fall. In summer and until late fall the cab- 
bages are cut and packed in crates for shipment, 50 to 
100 in a erate. Heads of uniform size should be crated, 
and the smaller ones sold or retained for manufacture 
into krout. Live stock breeders grow or buy large quan- 
tities of cabbage for feeding to sheep and other varieties 
'of stock. 

Storing. — -Cabbage may be stored for winter — keeping 
in a trench 4 feet wide and about 14 inches deep. Pull 
*ip the cabbages without shaking the dirt off the roots 
and place them head downwards in the trench, having 
previously covered the bottom of the excavation with 
straw. Wrap the leaves of each plant closely around the 
head and place the cabbages very close together, throw a 
few inches of straw over them and cover with about two 
inches of dirt. Later, when the weather is colder, throw 
on a little more dirt, and when freezing weather comes 
put on still more, so as to guard against their freezing. 

Varieties. — For early cabbage the Charleston Wake- 
field is unexcelled. For second early, the Newark Flat 
Dutch and Henderson Early Summer are favorites with 
many commercial growers. As a main-season variety the 
Premium Flat Dutch and Holland and Danish from im- 
ported seed is probably the best for northern locations. 

Cabbages have several enemies: Root maggots, against 
which slips of tarred paper have been used successfully; 
cabbage worms, which may be destroyed with pyrethrum 
or kerosene emulsion, and club roots for which there is no 
known remedy, except the rotation of crops; rot is a dis- 
ease of the root extending into the head. 

One ounce of seed will produce 1,500 to 3,000 plants. 
Ready for use in 100 to 160 days. 

CLOVER: 

One of the various species of plants numbering about 
150 varieties, mostly low herbs, found chiefly in the tem- 
perate regions of the northern hemisphere. Some varieties 
are merely weeds, but many are valuable as food for stock. 



CLOVER. 13 

The most important use of the clovers is that of forage, 
though they are also excellent renovators of the soil, their 
long roots running deep downward and their growth above 
ground obtaining nitrogen from the air, later to be given 
to the soil upon the decay of the plants. 

The most important species of clover are the common 
red clover, the mammoth red clover — sometimes called 
sapling clover — crimson or scarlet clover, white clover and 
alsike clover. Sweet clover and alfalfa are sometimes 
called clovers, though not properly so named. 

Red Clover (Common) or June Clover. — In the northern, 
central and eastern states this is one of the most important 
forage crops. In the south cowpeas takes its place, and 
in the west alfalfa is commonly grown. Besides its use 
for hay it is extensively used for green manure. Depending 
upon the locality, clover lives two or more years, being 
from one to two feet in height and producing two crops 
of hay each season. But one crop of seed can be grown 
per season from clover, as the first flowers are not cross 
fertilized. An average yield of clover hay is 1^ to 3 tons 
per acre. 

Soil. — Red clover may be grown on almost any soil, 
but a well drained clay loam is best. A good growth of 
clover denotes a good chance for almost any crop as 
wheat, oats or corn, as any of these will flourish where 
a good crop of clover grows. To renew land worn out 
by exhaustive cropping clover is one of the best mediums 
to be had, as it renders the soil friable and adds the 
nitrogen to it. 

Seeding. — Clover is sown broadcast at a depth of about 
one-half inch, 10 to 12 pounds per acre where used alone 
being sufficient. Timothy and clover is a standard mixture 
in many parts of the United States, about 6 pints per acre 
being used. 

In the North fall seeding is liable to kill and should 
consequently be seeded in the spring, often good results 
being had from seeding on the snow in March or later. 
Sometimes where winter wheat is put in in the fall and 
the timothy and clover mixture is used the timothy is 
best sown with the grain in the fall, the clover to be added 
in the spring. A better stand of clover is usually obtained 
from seeding with wheat than with oats, rye or barley. 

In buying clover seed especial care should be taken 
to secure seed free from weeds, as it is often mixed with 
weed seed. Some of the seeds sometimes found in clover are 
dodder, buckhorn, broadleaf plaintain and yellow trefoil. 



14 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Haying. — The time for cutting clover for hay is when 
about three-fourths of the plants are in bloom. It is then 
most valuable for forage and if cut later is too woody. 
The leaves are particularly valuable for forage. Care 
should be taken not to let the hay get too dry, as the 
leaves will fall. For making hay, as soon after cutting 
as the leaves wilt the hay should be raked and put in 
small cocks. About one day, if the weather is clear, is 
sufficient for curing. It should be packed close in the mow 
and should be allowed to cure for some time, air being 
kept out of the barn as much as possible. 

Silage. — As a silage crop clover is second to corn, being 
superior to hay cured in the ordinary manner. For silage 
clover should be cut the same as though it were to be 
used for hay. It should, however, be put in the silo direct 
from the mower. As the main reason for the spoiling of 
silage is the bulking up of the material, allowing the ad- 
mission of air, clover should be run through the cutter 
before putting in the silo. Because of the fact that clover 
silage does not depend upon sunshine for curing makes it 
much more valuable than when used as hay, as in this way 
a great quantity of excellent forage may be secured. 

Seed. — As the hulls of the first crop are generally not 
well filled, the second crop is the one cut for seed, being 
cut when the clover heads are ripe and show dark brown. 
Clover is cut for seed with a mower and handled as though 
it were hay, though a method often practiced is to cut it 
with a binder as grain is usually harvested. When so 
cut it is not threshed out as much in handling and less 
seed is lost than when cut with a mower. The ordinary' 
yield is one or two bushels per acre. 

Feeding Value. — As a fodder for sheep and cattle clover 
hay is in the first class. It is more dusty than timothy 
and not so well liked by horses and should not be fed to 
them as a main food on this account. Poultry are often 
given steamed clover hay in the winter. As a pasture, clover 
is adapted to any of the domestic animals. Cattle and 
sheep should not be turned upon clover pasture when the 
plants are damp, either from rain or dew, as wet clover 
will produce bloat. There is little danger from this after 
they have become used to the pasture, however, not being 
as dangerous as alfalfa under the same conditions. Clover 
is especially good for hogs. 

Green Manuring. — The best plan for using clover for 
green manure is to turn under the whole crop. Pasture it 
during summer and turn under in fall. 



CORN. 15 

Varieties. — The mammoth red clover resembles closely 
the common species, but is much larger and is later in 
maturing. When mixed with timothy it matures about the 
same time, and but one crop is secured. Crimson clover 
is best adapted to the middle and south Atlantic states, 
making one of the best orchard winter covering crops 
known. Alsike clover resembles both the common red 
clover and the white clover, the blossom being pinkish 
white. It is adopted to certain conditions where common 
red clover or alfalfa will not grow, standing freezing in 
good shape. The common white clover is but little sown, 
but spreads itself into meadows and pastures. It is valu- 
able for bees. 

Enemies. — Stem-rot produces swellings on the stem ; 
leaf-spot produces black spots on the leaves, and rust, a 
reddish powder, injures the quality of the plant. The 
midge may be prevented by cutting the first crop very 
early; the clover hay-worm feeds upon the hay. It may 
be destroyed by fumigation with bisulphide of carbon. 
The clover leaf midge attacks the leaf but does not damage 
the plant to any great extent. Root borers may be de- 
stroyed by plowing infested fields in June so as to kill 
the grubs by exposure to the sun. There are perhaps 
200 other species of insects which attack clover, such as 
wireworms, cutworms, locusts, etc. 

CORN: 

Maize, the most common and important field plant of 
the United States; also its seed. The importance of 
corn is best shown by the fact that four times as many 
bushels are grown as wheat. In 1905 10,000,000,000 bushels 
were grown in the United States. With the exception of 
Alaska every state and territory grows corn. To a larger 
extent than any other crop, corn has been studied and ex- 
perimented with, and the farmer can gain more from a care- 
ful study of what has been done in corn culture and breed- 
ing, than from years of individual experiment. 

Soil. — The ideal soil for corn is rich, moist, mellow 
loam, deep and warm. This is common in the corn-belt 
states. Well-manured pasture land and clover sod are 
favorites for turning under for corn in the Mississippi 
valley. While the corn plant, because of its branching 
roots six to eight feet in length will grow on poor soils, 
it will not produce good grain unless the soil is rich enough 
to provide for a good growth of stalk. So, too, the best 
yield of ears is not obtained unless the stalks have made 
a normal growth. For this reason some other plants will 



16 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

produce small or fair crop3 on soil too poor to produce corn. 
For instance, a cotton plant adjusts its yield of lint to the 
fertility of the soil, a small plant producing a small number 
of bolls containing lint of as good quality as that from a 
larger plant bearing many more bolls. 

Plowing. — Where there is danger from drouth or from 
grubworms, cutworms, and cornworms, fall plowing is to 
be preferred. A common custom is to plant upon the 
spring plowed land after dragging or pulverizing. In sec- 
tions where there is much rain during winter, it is better 
not to harrow fall-plowed lands in the autumn, especially 
fine clay soils in a rolling country. In comparative tests 
of fall and spring plowing, preceding a dry summer, the 
fall-plowed fields have generally yielded better. Deep 
spring plowing and spring subsoiling often result in dimin- 
ishing crops, especially if done after the spring rains. 

Depth of Plowing. — For a deep, rich soil, deep plowing 
is best done if done in the fall. For thin clay soils in some 
parts of the country subsoiling is better than very deep 
plowing, because it does not turn the compact clay to the 
surface, yet loosens the soil to a good depth. The plowing 
should not be at the same depth from year to year, aa 
by such a practice the soil is not mixed well; a hard sur- 
face is left at the bottom of the furrows where the horses 
walk and the plows drag. A little subsoil turned to the 
surface each year allows the elements to act upon it, lib- 
erating plant food, and as it becomes mingled with surface 
soil and vegetable growth, the soil depth will be increased. 
To accomplish these results it is well to plow a little deeper 
each year for several successive seasons, and then for one 
season give a plowing at about half the depth of the deepest 
plowing. 

Planting. — Throughout the chief corn-growing sections 
it is the general experience that corn planted early give* 
the best yield. In the northern states there is little choice 
as to time of planting. Corn should be planted as soon 
as the ground is sufficiently warm; most of it is planted 
between the 1st and 20th of May. Corn should not, of 
course, be planted in cold or wet ground simply because the 
calendar shows that the usual planting time has arrived ; 
the right time will suggest itself to the intelligent farmer. 

More than 90 per cent of corn is now planted by means of 
a check rower or two-horse planter. One man and team can 
plant in straight rows in both directions across the field 
fifteen to eighteen acres per day, thus admitting of cross 
cultivation. 



CORN. 17 

There is an old saying that "When oak leaves are as big 
as a mouse's ear it is time to plant corn." Fields planted 
early frequently escape attacks of the bud-worm, while later 
plantings of the same year suffer severely. 

If the seed has been properly selected and graded by 
running) it through a fanning mill, the modern corn- 
planting machines with the new edge-drop or improved 
round-hole plates can be made to drop with remarkable 
accuracy. The proper depth to plant must be governed 
by the character of the soil. If it is a stiff, heavy clay 
containing plenty of moisture at planting time, 1 inch is 
sufficiently deep; but if it is a light open, dry soil, 2 to 3 
inches is advisable. If the corn is planted deeper than 
3 inches there is danger that the seed will rot before it 
sprouts, or if it finally grows will give weak, sickly plants. 

The lister is used for plowing and planting fields that 
have been thoroughly plowed and also for planting directly 
in last year's cornfield or stubble field without previous 
preparation. This latter practice, however, is not recom- 
mended for shallow or stiff clay. By planting in a deep 
furrow as is done with the lister in some sections weeds 
in the corn rows are covered by cultivation, and as the fur- 
row becomes filled by cultivation the root system is placed at 
a greater depth. This requires a special cultivator but the 
corn is thus better enabled to endure drouth, and the stalks 
are not so easily blown down. On soils where corn can be 
listed without previous preparation of the ground this 
method saves labor, but it can be successfully employed 
only on very deep loose soils. 

Experiments in Iowa have shown that there was no 
difference between hills and drills where there was the 
same number of stalks. For example, three stalks 42 
inches apart have given the same results as where the 
stalks were 14 inches apart. In the corn-belt the usual 
distance between rows and between hills in the rows is 
3% feet. This gives 3,556 hills per acre. If planted thicker 
than this, the weight of the stover increases and the pro- 
duction of ears decreases. Small-growing varieties should 
be planted thicker than varieties producing tall stalks. 
When grown for silage or fodder thicker planting is prac- 
ticed. 

The distance for planting in a particular soil should be 
decided upon and the planter adjusted to plant accurately 
and regularly. The custom of planting a little thicker 
than the stand of stalks desired is not a good one. A harrow 
or weeder may be used when needed to break a surface crust 



18 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

or kill young weeds that start before the corn is up or 
large enough to be worked with other implements. 

There is small danger of cultivating too deeply the first 
time because the plants are small and the root system 
undeveloped, so that no injury will result to the roots. 
Care should be taken, however, not to cover any of the 
plants. To this end fenders should be used on the cul- 
tivators. During the succeeding cultivations great care 
should be exercised not to cultivate deeply, as then root 
pruning will be done, and the food and moisture supply 




Root development of corn. 

of the plants thus curtailed. Probably the greatest injury 
is done when the corn is laid by, as there is a feeling 
that this being the last chance at the weeds the cultivator 
should be let go down. On the contrary, this is the time 
to cultivate shallow. Deep culture at the outset is believed 
to insure deeper rooting by the plants and thus enables 
them better to withstand drouth and the effects of deep 
cultivation later in the season. Surface culture, however, 
has invariably given better results than deep culture when 
both have been applied continuously during the growing 



CORN. 19 

Many comparative experiments of deep and shallow 
cultivation have been made, and the results favor shallow 
cultivation. There are but few occasions when deep cul- 
tivation is preferable. If excessive rains have packed the 
soil and kept it water soaked deep cultivation will help to 
dry and aerate it. Breaking or pruning of the roots of the 
plants must be avoided so far as possible. If roots are 
pruned the plants will rapidly produce other roots, but it 
will be at the expense of the vitality and food supply. 
After the plants have reached a height of two feet, the soil, 
even in the middle of the rows, should not be cultivated 
deeper than three and one-half inches, and three inches or 
less is usually better. For retaining soil moisture* a loose 
soil mulch two or three inches in depth should be main- 
tained. 

Corn should be cultivated often enough to keep down 
the weeds and to constantly maintain a loose dust mulch. 
To this end a greater number of cultivations will be neces- 
sary when rains cause the surface soil to run together and 
crust. This crust must be broken and the soil mulch re- 
stored, or evaporation will soon rob the soil of its moisture. 
The longer the drouth the more frequent should be the 
cultivations. After a mulch has been produced its frequent 
stirring is necessary, in order to prevent the ground from 
becoming hard and losing moisture rapidly. One object 
of cultivation is to restore the soil mulch as soon after 
a 'rain as the condition of the ground will permit. If this 
time is allowed to pass and the ground becomes hard and 
baked dry, the crop will suffer greatly, for the cultivation 
of hard, dry ground breaks it up into clods, allowing the 
air to penetrate and causing more injury than if such cul- 
tivation had not been given at all. Many crops are cut 
short by stopping the cultivation because the corn is too tall 
for the use of the double cultivator without breaking down 
the stalks. If the condition of the soil demands it shallow 
cultivation should continue so long as it can be given with 
suitable implements without injuring the plants. 

Harvesting. — Where the crop is wanted for fodder it 
should be cut when the blades first begin to dry and the 
kernels are well dented. When grain is the object the ear 
should be well ripened. When both fodder and grain are 
wanted, it should be harvested at a time intermediate be- 
tween these two stages. For silage dent varieties should 
be cut when well dented and flint varieties just after 
glazing has taken place. 

There are many methods of harvesting corn — husking in 
the field, husking from the shock, "snapping" or "picking" 
in which the husks are left on the ear, cutting by hand or 



20 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

with the modern corn harvesters. When corn is husked 
or snapped in the field, stock is usually turned in after 
gathering. In order to obtain the most feed from the 
crop it should be put in the shock. 

Varieties. — Dent corn and flint corn are the two broad 
classes of field varieties. The former is grown almost 
exclusively in the corn-belt; the latter in New England 
and the South. Dent corn has the following characteris- 
tics: Wedge-shaped kernels with pits or dents at top; 
heavy crops, woody stalk. Flint corn has a hard, smooth 
kernel, more or less oval, with smooth top; is of rapid 
growth; stalks not so woody as dent corn; easily handled; 
preferable for silage. Dent corn has two types, white and 
yellow, there being practically no difference in either feed- 
ing value or yield. White has slightly outyielded yellow 
corn in some parts, but the difference is not material. 

Names of varieties are often not distinctive because 
of mixing of names by seed-corn dealers and the mixing 
of varieties by cross-pollination effected by the wind, so 
a varietal name is of little significance in comparison with 
the vigor, productiveness, and purity of the seed. Learning 
is as constant and well recognized a variety as exists, yet 
seed ears purchased under this name in Connecticut or 
New York are, in appearance and productive ability, usually 
as unlike ears of Learning purchased in Ohio or Illinois 
as they are unlike ears of other varieties. However, corn 
breeders have been at work for years to counteract this 
condition, and have selected seed for deep kernels, small 
cobs and well-filled tips and butts, and produced varieties 
which may be considered standard. The Illinois Seed Corn 
Breeders' Association recognizes seven breeds of corn (four 
of yellow), namely, Learning, Reid's Yellow Dent, Golden 
Eagle and Riley's Favorite, and (three of white), namely, 
Boone County White, Silver Mine and White Superior. 

Seed. — It is wonderful what can be and has been done 
by the use of proper seed for planting. Where corn is pur- 
chased from a grower, it should be bought on the ear. 
The chief characteristics of good seed corn are as follows: 
Cob, small, with tip almost entirely and butt well covered; 
kernels thickly placed in straight rows and having ker- 
nels full and plump at the tip next the cob. The ears 
should be sound and firm. 

Some of the points to be observed in the selection of 
seed corn are: 

(1) Size and shape of ear; ear should approach an 
nearly as may be a uniform diameter from end to end. 



CORN 



21 



(2) Size and quality of cob, a medium-sized cob being 
much better than a large, spongy one. 

(3) Depth of grain. 

(4) Shape of grains; grains should cary their wedge 
shape uniformly to the end, so that the ear may present 
as nearly as possible a solid surface. 




An excellent type of Reid's Yellow Dent ear, with examples of 
a well-filled tip and score-card butt. 

(5) Covering of cob; cob should be as completely and 
evjenly covered as possible at both ends. 

(6) Hardness of grain, too hard and flinty a grain not 
being readily masticated and digested. A hard grain, also, 
is more liable to be a shallow one. 

(7) Grains of even, uniform size and similar shape, to 
make possible uniformity of planting. 

(8) Color of grain, purity of color indicating purity 
of the corn. 



22 TJIE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Seed corn should be selected from the stalks when 
thoroughly matured, as field-cured corn is much the best. 
Free circulation of air among the ears is necessary and the 
old-fashioned method of tying the husks of several ears 
together for hanging is still followed. When once thor- 
oughly dry seed ears will not be injured by ordinary 
changes of temperature. Before planting, tests for vitality 
of the seed should be made, taking 4 to 6 kernels from 
cultivation should continue so long as it can be given with 
each ear. These may be placed in a shallow box or com- 
mon dinner plate containing moist sand and kept in a 
moderate temperature about eight days. Kernels not 
having firm, strong sprouts by the end of that time indi- 
cate that the ear should be discarded. Authorities differ 




Types of kernels, 1, 2, It and 12 being the most desirable in 
the order given. 

as to the relative value of the butt, middle and tip seed. 
An immediate advantage of using only middle seed is that 
the kernels are dropped with greater accuracy by the 
planter. In general, moreover, the larger kernels are to be 
preferred. 

Feeding. — Corn is rich in starch and oil, and is used 
as a feed for stock of all kinds whenever fat is wanted. 
In the corn-belt corn is fed to fattening steers in one or 
more ways, depending generally more upon the facilities 
for feeding than upon any other consideration. Some 
stockmen keep their steers in small enclosures and give 
them corn in the stalk, the ears being soaked before feed- 
ing; others feed the corn dry on the stalk to steers in the 
open, letting the hogs run after the herd and pick up all 
dropped kernels. The last is a common practice and con- 
sidered an economical method of feeding. One thing has 
been thoroughly shown, and that is that husking corn 
is a waste of time where it is to be fed to cattle or other 



CORN. 



23 



stock, as the animals may as well get at the corn them- 
selves. However, if the variety of corn has a very large 
ear or very tough cob it is common to break the ear into 
several parts or run through a crusher. If corn is ground 
for fattening stock, it should always be remembered that 
it is a concentrated food, and liable, especially in the last 
stages of feeding, to put stock off their feed. 

Corn is the standard food for hogs. In fact, most of 
the hog crop of the United States may be said to be grown 




Ears lacking uniformity and showing different characteristics. 

on corn from weaning to market time. The quality of the 
flesh is improved if fed with some nitrogenous grain as 
barley or peas. There does not seem to be any advantage 
from feeding ground corn except when fed to young pigs. 
When the meal is fed it should be soaked or fed as a 
mash, as better results will be obtained than when fed 
dry. 



24 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Corn makes excellent feed for sheep. It should be fed 
dry. For feeding qualities of corn for the horse, see under 
Horse. 

Fodder Corn. — Perhaps the best way to save corn for 
fodder is to cut it with a corn harvester, and run it through 
a corn shredder. More and more corn is cut every year for 
fodder. Corn closely drilled in so that the ears are about 
half size makes an excellent fodder. 

Indian corn is the great silage plant of America, the 
larger dent varieties being the favorite ones. Burrill and 
Whitman is one of the best known varieties, but for re- 
gions in the northern corn-belt it does not mature soon 
enough to be entirely satisfactory. As a rule, the best 
corn for silo in any locality is that which will be reason- 
ably sure to mature before frost, and produces a large 
amount of foliage and ears. Wisconsin Yellow Dent does 
well on the northern line of dent corn growing, while Bur- 
rill and Whitman, Learning and Dungan White Prolific 
will do well farther south. The common Southern Horse 
Tooth and Mosby Prolific are well adapted to the southern 
states and are heavy yielders. 

CORN BREEDING: 

Physical Improvement. — Prof. P. G. Holden, of the Iowa 
Experiment Station, is probably the father of the cam- 
paign which has resulted in the physical and chemical 
improvement of corn. About ten years ago he began to 
teach that the cereal could be improved by careful, per- 
sistent selection of seed ears of a given type each season. . 
Experiments were conducted which proved the value and 
practicality of this work. Like produces like. On this 
basis the grower can produce almost any type o. ear ho 
desires by selecting his seed ears for certain characteristics, 
and planting them where the pollen from neighboring fields 
cannot fertilize the breeding plants. Corn breeding plots 
should be at least 80 rods from other varieties of corn. 
Practical breeders want an ear about 10 to 11 inches long 
and from 7 to 8 inches in circumference, shelling about 
88 per cent corn to cob. White corn should have white 
cobs and yellow corn red cobs in order to be classified as 
pure-bred. The butts and tips are shelled off and only 
the central kernels used for seed. The row system is fol- 
lowed by breeders. The kernels from each ear are planted 
in one row; that is, one ear plants one row. Usually the 
breeding plot is planted by hand. When the plants have 
begun to tassel go through the plot and detassel all 



CORN. 



stalks which show signs of producing ears, so that the 
pollen (borne by the tassel or male organ of the plant), 
cannot fertilize the silks (or female organs) of plants 
which promise good seed. If this fertilization should 
take place the tendency to barrenness would be trans- 
mitted to future seed. By planting an isolated plot of 
an acre or more each season with specially selected seed, 
picked for its trueness to the desire type, any farmer 
may effect marked improvement in any variety of corn. 
The improvement spells more corn and hence greater profits 
to the grower. No matter how perfect the seed ears 
in appearance, they are useless for improvement work if 
they are weak in vitality or germinating power. Every 









Butts and tips ; the left two are good ; middle two, poor ; 
right, two, very poor. 

seed ear therefore should be tested as already directed. 
To warrant its use for planting an ear should show a 
germinating strength of at least 97 per cent; that is, out 
of every 100 kernels tested at least 97 of them should 
produce healthy plants. Breeding plots which cannot con- 
veniently be isolated may be placed in the center of a 
large field of corn of the same variety as that in the plots. 
Chemical Improvement. — In 1890 the Illinois Experi- 
ment Station inaugurated experiments to change the chemi- 
cal composition of corn. The variety selected was Burr's 
White, a local dent corn, a good yielder. Chemical analysis 
had shown that the ears varied materially in composition 



26 



TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



but that the kernels on a given ear were fairly uniform 
in this regard. Consequently by analyzing a few kernels 
from each ear its percentage of protein, oil and starch 
could be determined approximately. Some ears were found 
to be high in protein or low; others high or low in oil; 
others high or low in starch. The experiments were to 
determine whether by selection of high protein ears, for 
example, this valuable content could be increased. The 
work has proved a great success as well as a revelation, 
showing that the breeder can alter the composition of corn 
according to his fancy or needs simply by using for seed 
ears which show a large percentage of the ingredient de- 
sired. Chemical analyses are not essential in order to 
ascertain the composition of the corn, though in scientific 
work the laboratory must be used. Experienced corn 
breeders can tell by a physical examination whether a 
kernel is high or low in any of the three constituents 
named. A preponderance of protein is indicated by a large 
amount of hard, flinty, translucent material and large 
heart; a high content of starch is suggested by a large 






Upper one-third of partially shelled ears, showing a large cob, 
a medium-sized cob and a small cob. The middle ear is 
the best type, having a deeper kernel than either of the 
other ears. 

amount of white material at the top of the kernel and at 
the edges; a large percentage of oil is shown by the extra 
size of the heart or germ. Corn can be so improved in any 
of these several regards that it is rendered more valuable 
for specific purposes, and commands a premium on the 
market in some localities. High protein corn is preferable 
for stock feeding, especially for young or growing animals. 
Corn with a large percentage of starch makes it more 
valuable for use by glucose factories or starch manufac- 



CORN. 27 

turers, and the more oil corn contains the more valuable 
it is for manufacture into certain foods made for human 
consumption, corn oil being commonly used for olive oil. 
Thus it will be seen that the breeding of corn to increase 
or decrease its chemical composition is of commercial value. 
Those who desire to breed corn along this line should 
be willing to give it much attention and extra labor. It 
is hardly practical for the farmer to start it with native 
seed. He better secure seed from growers of reputation 
who already have attained to certain standards. 

Detasseling. — Experiments in recent years have shown 
that yields may be appreciably increased by detasseling 
alternate rows and thus avoiding in-breeding. This method 
makes corn breeding a more definite process than it ever 
before has been. Actual sires and dams, as in animal 
breeding are established. Select 50 seed ears for ex- 
ample, and plant them individually in as many rows, the 
row being long enough to require all the good kernels for 
planting it. Before the pollen matures on the plants de- 
tassel every other row and from the detasseled rows select 
the seed for next year's planting. A portion of these 
ears will serve for sires and another portion for dams. 
Detasseling is practiced as before and a similar selection 
of seed made. This absolutely prevents in-breeding and 
brings together unlike blood each year, so that strong 
strains may be blended and the constitution of the corn 
strengthened. This work is practical and it pays. 

Uses of Corn. — Corn is now used to a greater extent 
in the manufacture of foods for human consumption than 
ever before. The number of uses to which the grain is 
put is large. Immense quantities are used in the manu- 
facture of alcoholic liquors. Some of the products made 
of the grain are mixing glucose of three kinds, crystal 
glucose of four kinds, grape sugar of two kinds, anhydrous 
sugar, pearl starch, powdered starch, refined grits, flourine, 
dextrine of four kinds, corn oil, corn oil cake, rubber 
substitute, corn germ, granulated gum. The oil is used 
to a considerable extent in some foreign countries for the 
manufacture of soft soap. Fiber is made from the shell 
or outer portion of the stalk. The inner portion or pith 
is ground and converted into a product called cellulose, 
which is used in packing the coffer-dams of warships. 
Varnish also is made from the shell. The leaves and other 
portions of the stalks are ground into stock foods. The 
cobs are turned into cob pipes also by a process of fer- 
mentation converted into vinegar. The increased commer- 



28 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

cial uses of corn have aided in sustaining its price in recent 
years. 

DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES: 

According to a leading entomologist, there are about 
225 species of insects which attack different parts of the 
«orn plant. In the corn-belt probably the most serious 
insect foes of the corn plant are those which infest the 
planted seed and the roots. The wire-worm belongs to 
this class; so does the corn root louse. Root blight, a 
fungous disease, also works on the roots. Corn, failing to 
make satisfactory growth, usually is the victim of either 
a disease or insect pest. Plants that wither or turn yellow- 
ish in most cases owe their abnormal condition to the work 
of wire-worms or the well-known white grub. There is no 
mistaking the work of cutworms, the tender young plants, 
clipped off at the surface, leaving no doubt as to the 
identity of the marauder. Greater injury can be done to 
the corn plant by underground enemies than those which 
confine their operations to the aerial part of the plant, 
yet there are insects and fungous diseases which form a 
serious menace in certain seasons and communities to the 
above-ground plant. In combating insects and diseases an 
ounce of prevention is worth pounds of cure. For this 
reason the corn-grower should rotate his crops and do his 
plowing with a view of routing or circumscribing those 
pests which his experience has shown do most injury to 
his crops. Fields planted successively to corn are almost 
sure to be invaded by insects which might be avoided 
through the systematic rotation of crops. 

Smut shows first on the leaves, afterwards attacking 
the ear, leaving it a shapeless mass of black powder. There 
is danger from smut especially where cattle are allowed 
to run in the stalks. It is said to produce abortion in cows 
with calf. There is no practical treatment for it. 

Rust like that attacking wheat sometimes troubles 
corn, but usually is too late to do it much damage. Blight 
affecting the whole leaf may be counteracted by burning 
over the ground. Wilt in which the plants affected shrivel 
up, has no known treatment after the plant is once af- 
fected. 

Among the many insects attacking corn only a few of 
the most important can be given. Boll worm attacks 
cotton and other plants as well as corn. It is treated 
under Cotton. The corn root worm, the larva of which 
bore into the corn roots; is not very injurious to large 
sections of corn. Corn delphax, in which the larva come 



CORN. 



29 



from eggs lodged in the midribs of the leaves, and pene- 
trating them, is combated by a spraying with kerosene 
-emulsion. The stalk borer works in the stalks and in the 
-cob; there is no known remedy for it after it attacks 
the corn. The chinch bug is treated under Wheat; it at- 
tacks corn as a general thing only after being driven 
from wheat or barley. 

Cutworms. — Growing corn, especially that put in on 
sod, is subject to the attacks of cutworms which sever 
the stalk about 1% inch below the surface. The danger 
from these worms is greater because there has generally 
been no provision made for their prevention, as they occur 
in localities where it is not customary to combat any of 




One of the cutworms attacking corn, cabbage, tobacco, etc. 
a, larva ; b, head of larva ; c, adult. 

the insect enemies to corn. What is known as the poisoned 
trap system is used on land subject to their ravages. This 
consists in scattering bunches of grass through the fields 
or placing here and there a turnip or cabbage leaf and col- 
lecting from time to time the cutworms gathering under 
them. These vegetable traps may be poisoned with Paris 
green and the trouble of examining the trap and killing 
the worms by hand may be avoided. Another method is 
to poison a patch of grass with a broadcast sprayer, after- 
wards cutting it and distribute it in little bunches here 
and there through the field. Any early vegetation may 
be used in this way and extensive fields can be economically 
rid of the worms before most crops show themselves above 
the ground. 



30 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

COTTON: 

The name of several species of the Mallow family or the 
lint they produce. The cotton belt embraces the states 
south of a line drawn from southern Virginia to north- 
ern Oklahoma. Texas is the leading cotton state. The 
average annual yield for the United States is 10,000,000,000 
bales. 

Soil. — Unlike corn and the small grains, cotton is able 
to yield a crop on less productive soil. The plant has a 
long root reaching well into the ground. A drained clay 
loam or sandy loam with a subsoil of clay are excellent. 
The preparation of the seed bed should be thorough, deep 
and firmed by rains. 

Planting. — The Louisiana Experiment Station says that 
"planting should be done by some of the excellent and 
cheap cotton planters now to be everywhere found, since 
only a machine will give an even and straight stand 
which so facilitates subsequent cultivation. It further- 
more economizes the seed, a point of great importance 
when the true value of this article as a manure and 
foodstuff is appreciated." 

Cultivation. — When the cotton is first plowed, the shov- 
els are set for fairly deep work both to disturb the soil 
and eliminate the weeds, but afterwards the soil is worked 
as shallow as the land allows. The aim is to avoid break- 
ing the roots of the plants. After heavy rains the soil 
should be stirred and during dry weather a shallow cul- 
tivator run so as to form a mulch for holding the moist- 
ure of the soil. Cultivation should be by hand as little 
as possible, as hoeing adds greatly to the cost. 

Planting usually takes place in the latitude of Louis- 
iana in April. The practice of planting late and forcing 
the crop by high fertilization is not to be advised, though 
the advantages claimed by this means are that a thick 
crop of grass is avoided and there is less cost for culti- 
vation. It may be taken as a general rule poor land 
should be planted early and rich, moist land late. 

The usual distance for the plants is 3 to 4 feet between 
rows, plants 12 to 18 inches apart in the row. Greater dis- 
tance is given on very rich soil; 

Fertilization. — The elements to be added to the soil 
are the following, arranged in the order of their import- 
ance. (1) Phosphoric acid; (2) nitrogen; (3) potash. 
When all of these elements are found in one fertilizer in 
the proper proportions the best results are had with cot- 



COTTON. 31 

ton. The ingredients should be mixed in the following 
proportions: one part of nitrogen and one part of potash 
to three and one-third parts of phosphoric acid. From 
200 to 400 pounds of the mixture should be used per acre 
and should be drilled in, not broadcasted. The barnyard 
manures are excellent for the soil. For green manure the 
cowpea is an excellent crop when turned under. 

Harvesting. — Cotton is picked by hand, though some 
machines have been invented which do the work fairly well. 
Fields are picked over from two to four times, the season 
being about 2 to 3 months. Growers are working to shorten 
the season by breeding more rapid fruiting and maturing 
varieties. 

Varieties. — Two species are common in the southern 
states: the upland or short-staple cotton and the sea 
island cotton. Upland cotton has a flower white or cream- 
colored when first opening, later becoming reddish and on 
the third day falling. The boll left after the flower falls 
develops to the size of a hen's egg, when it splits, lib- 
erating the seeds and fibrous wool. Sea island cotton 
yields less per acre than the upland cotton but the 
lint finds a better market as it is longer and the quality 
is better. It is grown along the coast from South Caro- 
lina to Florida and on the adjoining islands. Like corn, 
there are a large number of varieties of cotton. The fol- 
lowing list gives some of the upland varieties that are 
grown: Dixon's Improved, Beck, Peerless, Sure Fruit, 
Cochran Prolific, Texas Storm Proof, Texas Oak, Griffin 
Hawkins, Mell Cross, Peterkin, Truitt, Schley, Moss' Im- 
proved, Russell, Big Roll, and many others. 

.Uses. — Cotton is used in the well-known manufacture 
of cotton cloth, the seed being used for the manufacture of 
cottonseed oil and meal. A ton of seed yields from 40 to 
45 gallons of oil. The meal of cottonseed ranks as one of 
the best feeds in use for stock and also as an excellent 
fertilizer. 

Enemies. — Anthracnose is a fungus affecting the leaves, 
stems and bolls of the cotton plant. There is no known 
remedy for this pest. 

Root-rot. — Is a fungus which attacks the cotton plant 
and a large number of other plants and trees. It is best 
treated by rotation of crops. 

Leaf Blight. — Sometimes attacks the leaves, blackening 
them and destroying them. No remedy can be recom- 
mended. 



32 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Boll-rot. — Is one of the diseases for which there i9 no 
treatment, attacking the bolls, seeds and lint. 

Damping off. — In which the plants affected usually fall, 
manifests itself as a brown area on the stems just above 
the roots. 

Wilt. — Is shown when the interior of the stem is brown 
instead of white. This disease attacks other fieli and 
garden crops such as the cowpea and watermelon. There 
is no treatment, but seed should be obtained from healthy 
plants which have grown on infected ground as it is aft- 
erwards immune to the ravages of this pest. 

There are a large number of insects attacking cot- 
ton. The following do most damage: The cotton worm 
is a caterpillar infesting the field during the summer 
and becoming more numerous during the last of the 
season. The remedy is Zo distribute Paris green pow- 
der over the plants so as to dust them with it. 

The Boll Worm, the corn ear-worm and the Tomato 
Fruit Worm are all the same species. In addition to cot- 
ton, corn and tomatoes, it feeds upon many garden 
plants. Frequently several days are passed in searching for 
a boll and it is during this stage that the insect may be 
destroyed by arsenical poison. The best means of fight- 
ing the boll worm is by the intelligent rotating of crops. 
Entomologists advise, when planting cotton, that five rows 
for every twenty -five be left vacant. In these 
five rows at the earliest possible time one row 
of early-maturing sweet corn is planted. Dur- 
ing the silking period frequent examinations are made as 
to the number of boll worms. As soon as the fresh white 
eggs are found each morning the silk ends of the corn 
are cut away and destroyed; then the plants themselves 
are destroyed and three more of the rows are planted to 
dent corn so as to bring the silking period about the first 
of July or a little later. The eggs on these rows should 
mature as the worms destroy each other and be destroyed 
by their enemies; those escaped, however, will be trapped 
if the fifth and last row of the vacant strip be planted 
to sweet corn at such time as to reach full silk about 
Aug. 1. This last row should be carefully watched and 
the corn cut and destroyed as soon as it appears that no 
more eggs are being deposited. Early fall plowing and 
breaking of farm land is the general treatment for this, 
insect. 




Transformations of cotton bollworm : 1, egg on under side of 
cotton leaf ; 2, larva one-third grown boring into square ; 
3, entrance hole of young larva in square, with excremental 
pellets at edge of hole ; 4, nearly full-grown larva just 
issued from boll; 5, full-grown larva on leaf stem; 6, 
pupa shown in center of underground earthen cell ; cell 
shown in longitudinal section ; 7, adult moth, light variety ; 
8, adult moth with dark fore wings ; 9, adult moth in rest- 
ing position, vings slightly elevated. 

(33) 



34 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

The Mexican cotton boll weevil is a most important 
enemy. This weevil is of chocolate color, issuing in early 
spring from its winter quarters to feed upon the young 
cotton. The eggs are laid in the young squares or fruit. 
When the larva hatches it begins to feed at once on the 
boll. Having the crop mature eaily in the season and 
then chop, plow up or burn the stalks before frost is the 
most practical treatment for this insect. Wilcox and 
Smith recommend the following: 

"Lantern traps are of little avail in fighting the Mexican 
cotton boll weevil. Reliance should be placed on extermina- 
tion by cultural methods. Trap crops of early cotton may 
be planted about gins and seed houses, and these crops 
thoroughly sprayed with arsenical poisons for the destruc- 
tion of the weevils in the spring. The weevils may also 
be jarred from the trap crops into pans containing kerosene 
or some adhesive substance. Infested squares may be 
recognized by their flared appearance and may be picked 
off and destroyed with the enclosed grubs. Many infested 
squares fall to the ground and may be gathered and burned 
or plowed under deeply. Since cotton seed is often infested 
with weevils, is may be well to fumigate it as it is ginned 
with carbon bisulphide, using 1 pound for 25 to 50 bushels 
of seed. Since cotton keeps growing and producing squares 
until severe frosts occur, it will be advantageous to allow 
cattle in the cotton fields late in the fall to eat the late 
squares which will be infested with weevils. The remaining 
stalks may be cut down and piled in windrows, under which 
the weevils will hibernate, and this material may then be 
buz - ned. Spraying may be adopted as supplementary .to 
the cultural methods for combating this weevil. The ar- 
senical poisons are recommended, a strong solution to be 
used for trap crops." 

CRAB GRASS: 

The most common grass in cultivated ground, making 
its principal growth late in the summer, after other crops 
have been harvested or laid by, and so furnishing a large 
amount of hay with no expense save that of harvesting. 
Although not often on the market, crab grass furnishes 
more forage for home use in the Gulf States than any 
other grass. When oats, melons and other early crops 
have been harvested it will soon cover the ground, and by 
October will often make a yield of a ton per acre, while 
in the pine woods and coast regions it will make nearly 
or quite as much on land from which corn has been har- 
vested in August. 



COWPEA. 35 

COWPEA: 

A leguminous plant cultivated in the South for at least 
150 years; in the relationship and habit of growth, really 
beans and not peas; annuals, closely related to the lablab, 
lima, and haricot beans of our gardens. 

Varieties. — Cowpeas occur in every gradation of habit, 
form a compact, stocky, upright bush having single stems 
a foot high with very short lateral branches to those 
with trailing runners growing as flat upon the ground 
as sweet-potato or melon vines, the prostrate stems 
15 to 20 feet in length. The pods vary from 4 to 16 
inches in length, and the peas are of every imaginable 
shade of white, yellow, green, pink, gray, brown, red, pur- 
ple and black, of solid colors or variously mottled and 
speckled, and of varying sizes and forms, from large 
kidney-shaped to little round ones smaller than the garden 
peas. There is a like variation in the length of time the 
different forms require to ripen seed, some requiring 8 or 9 
months, a few ripening in 60 days from the time of 
planting. 

Cultivation. — Cowpeas are planted broadcast or in 
drills, very commonly in the South, between the corn 
rows after the crop is laid by. The amount of seed used 
varies from 4 quarts to 2 bushels per acre, the average 
amount being perhaps about 3 pecks. If sown in drills 
18 to 30 inches apart, less seed is required than when 
sown broadcast. The seed will stand being covered to the 
depth of 2 cr 3 inches, but care must be taken to plant 
when the ground is neither too wet nor too cold, as the 
peas rot rapidly under such circumstances. Where the 
vines are grown for hay, the yield will be larger if the 
seed is planted in drills and cultivated a time or two. 

The vines should be mowed for hay when the peas are 
well formed and the leaves and pods are first beginning 
to turn yellow. After wilting on the ground or in win- 
rows from 24 to 48 hours, the hay is placed in small thin 
piles, or cocks, and allowed to cure for several days, when 
it may be carted to the barn or stacked under sheds. 
Another method is to stack the vines in a pen or rack of 
rails or poles so arranged as to allow the air to enter 
every part of the pile. This stacking over poles is best 
where the vines are pulled, or where the trailing or creep- 
ing sorts are used. 

In the Gulf States cowpeas will give an average yield 
of 2 to 3 tons per acre, while 4 to 6 tons are not uncommon. 
Farther north the average will range from 1% tons in Ohio 



36 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

to 2y 2 tons in Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee. North of 
the latitude of the Ohio river it is chiefly valuable as an 
addition to the list of drouth-resistant, soiling crops and as 
a crop that will yield a considerable amount of forage on 
soil too sterile to grow red clover. 

Harvesting. — The majority of farmers harvest only 
enough seed of cowpeas to plant again the next season. 
The ripe pods are picked by hand and are stored in bar- 
rels until needed or are threshed out by machine or with 
flails on the barn floor during the winter. 

Feeding Value. — The feeding value of cowpea hay is 
very high, as shown by feeding tests and chemical an- 
alyses. Green cowpea vines are more succulent than red 
clover o» any of the grasses, containing less dry matter 
per total weight. 

When cowpeas are planted for green manure, it is an 
excellent practice to turn hogs into the field about the 
time the first peas are ripening. Young pigs thrive on 
the succulent foliage and well-filled pods, and the quality 
of the pork on such a healthful and nutritious diet is 
extra good. This is a profitable method of fattening hogs 
or preparing them for topping off with corn for market. 
An acre of ripening cowpeas will pasture from 15 to 20 
hogs for several weeks. 

CRIMSON CLOVER: 

i'his annual clover is of comparatively recent introduc- 
tion into this country, in many sections having hardly 
passed the experimental stage. It thrives best on warm, 
loose, sandy soils, and does not make a satisfactory growth 
on stiff or wet and poorly drained clays, nor on any of the 
heavier classes of soils. Its chief value is as a winter and 
early spring pasture crop and as green manure. The seed 
should be sown alone at the rate of 15 pounds to the 
acre about the middle of July or the first of August in 
the Middle and New England states, or later farther South. 
Farmers have been more successful with it in the South 
than where the winters are severe. 

FLAX: 

A common, flowering plant grown for its oily seed and 
fibrous stalks; one of the standard crops of the United 
States, grows in all the northern states. Instances are 
common in the Dakotas (on low-priced lands) where one 
year's crop will be greater in value than the land upon 
which it was grown. Until late years but little attempt 



FLAX. 37 

■was made to save the fiber, but at present tow mills are 
found in many flax-raising districts. 

Soil. — A moist, deep, strong loam upon upland will give 
the best results. Barley lands in the middle states and 
new prairie lands or old turf in the western states are 
frequently used. Weedy soil should always be avoided. 
Fall plowing with cross plowing in the spring if the land 
be heavy is to be recommended. The soil should be har- 
rowed until it is as fine and even as possible, all lumps 
and clods being broken up. Flax is commonly called "hard 
on the ground" and except in the new lands of the west 
the same land is not cropped with it for more than one 
year. 

Sowing. — Flax is usually sown on breaking or corn 
ground. Early in May or When the ground is settled and 
warm, is the usual time in the north. Two or 3 pecks of 
seed per acre is sown; one and one-half to two bushels per 
acre is required to produce fine fiber. Broadcasting is the 
common method of sowing; drilling is sometimes, practiced 
where seed only is wanted. 

Care. — Flax requires no attention unless weeds are 
present in the stand. Mustard is one of the common weeds 
found in flax fields, and must be pulled and destroyed. 

Harvesting. — Flax for seed is generally cut with the 
binder, occasionally being bound. Sometimes the binding 
apparatus is removed and the cut grain allowed to trail 
on the ground. It is not often mowed unless the weather 
is damp enough to prevent shelling. Thrashing is done 
with an ordinary machine. Flax grown for fiber may be 
pulled by hand or cut close to the ground, by machine, the 
first way being the more common. 

Yield. — Eight to 15 bushels is the common yield, and 
will bring an average price of $1 to $1.25. 

Use. — The manufacture of linseed oil consumes most 
of the crop grown for seed, the residue — linseed meal — 
being used as a stock Tood. The straw is used for bed- 
ding, banking and is often burned, as stock will not 
eat it. 

Diseases. — Flax wilt is a fungous disease attacking the 
plants at different times, causing them to wilt suddenly. 
Disease is introduced through the seed. It is best met by 
rotation of crops, though the seed may be cleansed by 
treatment with a solution of formalin, 1 pound to 45 gal- 
lons of water. 



38 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

FOXTAIL MILLETS: 

By far the most important group of millets grown. 

Varieties. — Common millet is the most widely culti- 
vated of the foxtail millets, being the hardiest, and endur- 
ing drouth the best and giving best returns on poor soils. 
It is the one of the earliest of the foxtail millets, and is 
the most constant in its characters. 

German millet has been in general cultivation in the 
south since the early seventies, making a heavy yield of 
forage under favorable conditions, but does not stand 
drouth so well as the smaller varieties, such as the common 
millet and Hungarian. 

Hungarian, by most farmers, is placed next to common 
millet as a hay crop, the quality being regarded as better 
than that of German millet. 

Seeding. — Seeding is generally done during the latter 
part of May or early June in the North, and correspond- 
ingly earlier in the South; or, if the moisture conditions 
are favorable it may be delayed as late as Aug. 1 in the 
latter region, the, general rule being, however, to sow 
millet as soon as corn is planted. It is often put in as a 
catch crop when corn has failed or been destroyed. 

The seed may be sown broadcast or with a grain drill. 
There is but little choice between the two methods. One- 
half to three-fourths of a bushel of seed per acre for a crop 
of hay and somewhat less for a crop of grain, is sown. 

Harvesting. — Cutting foxtail millets for hay should 
never be delayed until the seed has begun to ripen. The 
hay may be safely cut any time during the period from 
complete "heading out" to full bloom. 

One of the best methods of curing the hay is to allow 
the grass to lie in the swath until partially dry, then 
gather into shocks and let stand until thoroughly cured, 
after the manner of curing alfalfa and clover. Hay cured 
in this way is of better quality than that allowed to lie 
in the swath exposed to the sun until dry. 

HOPS: 

Twining plants of the nettle family, the floral parts 
of which furnish the substance* giving the characteristic 
bitter taste to beer. The Pacific states and New York 
supply the greater part of the crop, though Wisconsin, 
Minnesota and Michigan produce a small amount. 

Soil. — Where the country is new as in Oregon and 
Washington, any mellow soil will produce good hops with- 
out fertilization; in the well-cropped lands of the east well 



HOFS. 39 

rotted stable manure must be applied in quantities to 
secure a profitable crop. Sandy loam is considered the 
best. 

Propagation. — Root cuttings 4 to 8 inches long are used 
to propagate the hop vine. Planting takes place early in 
the spring. Two or three cuttings are spaded or heeled 
in, in rows 7 feet apart each way, these cuttings being 
about 8 inches apart. Except in California or similar 
warm climates there will be no crop the first year. As 
there is considerable waste space this may be utilized by 
planting it to potatoes or some other low crop. California 
vines yield well the first year, the second year being the 
best. Ten years is the average paying life of the vine. 

Pruning. — It is necessary to prune the roots of the 
vines every year. This is done by exposing the roots to 
a depth of 3 or 4 inches, removing an inch of the old 
crown, cutting off and removing the surface runners as 
well as the dead part of the vine stump which was cut off 
at harvesting time. 

Training. — There are two methods of training: the pole 
and the trellis method. In the first, the vines are trained 
on one or two poles 15 to 18 feet long; in the second, the 
plants are trained upon wires let down from the tops of 
poles. 

.Picking. — Hops are picked when the seed becomes hard, 
the point of the cone closing up, the hop feeling hard and 
solid to the hand and rustling when touched. The vines 
are cut down for picking. The hops being then cured or 
bleached for market. 

After bleaching and going through a sweating process 
hops are put up in bales of about 200 pounds. There is 
a wide range in the market price of hops, sometimes sell- 
ing as high as $1 per pound and as low 5 cents. 

Expenses. — Hops cost about 12 cents per pound to 
grow. It costs above $100 per acre for roots, planting, 
trellis, while a kiln taking care a 50 acre crop will cost 
not less than $3,500. Drying costs about 80 cents per 
1,000 pounds; shipping, $15. 

Diseases. — Mildew, which may be treated by dusting 
with sulphur or spraying with fungicides, sometimes oc- 
curs. Hop grubs, leaf hoppers and caterpillars also attack 
the vines. Spraying is usually practiced for their re- 
moval. 



40 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

KAFFIR CORN: 

A close-growing, leafy, more or less branched plant 
with very compactly flowered heads. Three varieties are 
at present in general cultivation — red, white and black - 
hulled white. These varieties differ chiefly in hardiness 
and in the character of the seed and hulls or glumes. 

Kaffir corn is especially valuable for its ability to thrive 
to thrive on a great variety of soils and under conditions 
of drouth that would be fatal to corn, readily reviving with 
the coming of rain. The leaves remain green and fresh 
until after the grain ripens, so that it is possible to harvest 
a good crop of seed and also one of forage of good average 
quality. 

Under ordinary conditions about 6 pounds of seed will 
be sufficient to plant one acre of land. The preparation 
of the soil, methods of cultivation and subsequent treat- 
ment should be essentially the same as that given to the 
common sorghums. 

The seed of Kaffir corn is of much the same composi- 
tion as Indian corn, and may be substituted for it as stock 
food to good advantage, although not having quite as high 
food value. 

OATS: 

A collective name for common cereal plants or their 
seed, grown as food for domestic animals and to a limited 
extent as food for man throughout the temperate zones. . 

Oats forms one of the most important crops grown in 
the United States, being second in number of bushels 
raised. Of all the cultivated cereals oats are the most 
hardy and are grown in every state in the Union, and as 
far north as Alaska. 

Soil. — The best soil for oats is a clay or clay loam, 
fertile and well-drained, though the crop may be success- 
fully grown on almost any soil. Better results are ob- 
tained from plowing than from disking in, though oats 
are usually disked or harrowed in without plowing when 
following corn. In the northern states fall plowing has 
proved to be the best for oats, while farther south, spring 
plowing seems to be the most favorable. 

Seeding. — The seeding time of oats, like that of other 
grains, depends upon the locality. In the south, oats may 
be sown in the spring or in the fall, while in the north, 
oats are seeded as soon as the frost is out of the ground. 



OATS. 41 

To secure the best results seed should be sown about 
2 inches in depth, though they may be sown as deep as 3 
inches without danger. From 2 to 3 bushels per acre is 
usually put in. Oats are usually sown alone, though 
mixed with wheat in the north or with peas in the south. 
A common mixture of peas and oats is one-half bushel 
of the former to two bushels of the latter. When grown 
for hay the same ground may be cropped in the fall with 
rape for sheep. Drilling and broadcasting are both prac- 
ticed for oats, the latter being by far the more common. 

Harvesting. — Harvesting should begin when the lower 
part of the stalk is turned and commences to show yellow. 
The straw is better at this time and there will be no I033 
from shelling as is common when harvesting is delayed. 
One of the faults of heavy growth of oats is lodging. 
Rolling has often been tried to remedy this. The oats are 
rolled when they are from 8 to 12 inches high, after which 
they stand up better. 

Varieties. — There are two classes of the ordinary species 
of oats called branching oats and side oats. Besides this 
distinction there are also white, black and red oats with 
intermediate colors. The hulless variety of oats is some- 
times grown but is not as good a yielder as other kinds. 
Among the many varietties of oats giving heavy yields 
are Lincoln, Monarch, Wide Awake, Welcome, Clydesdale, 
American Banner and New Zealand. 

Value for Feeding. — Oats are considered most valuable 
for horses, being a well balanced ration. For growing 
young stock and for breeding hogs or sheep this grain is 
unexcelled. Milch cows do very well on oats either ground 
or unground. For hogs they should be ground, and if 
possible, mixed with cornmeal. 

Enemies. — The most important diseases of oats are 
the smuts. Wherever the grain is put in, loose smut will 
often be found. The disease is carried by the seed and 
the seed must be treated. To prevent smut in oats the 
seed should be soaked for two hours in a solution of 
formalin, having one pound of formalin to 50 gallons of 
water. Another remedy is that of soaking the seed for 
one day in a solution of potassium sulphide, 1% pounds 
to 225 gallons of water. Or the seed may be placed in a 
common gunny sack and immersed in a kettle of water 
heated to 136 to 138 degrees F., agitating the contents 
for 5 minutes; remove and sow by hand. Seed free from. 
smut is had from the resulting crop. 



42 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

The grain must be thoroughly wetted in treatment, 
otherwise it is not affected. Besides the various smuts 
rust attacks oats the same as wheat. Other diseases are 
not common. Oats are subject to the same insects as 
is wheat. 

ONION: 

Common garden and field plant, grown for its bulbous 
root and much used as an article of food. Onions com- 
monly are grown from seed, though a small portion of 
the crop is produced from sets or tops and from potato 
onions. Sets are small onions; tops are the small bulbs 
which grow on top of the plant, while potato onions are 
those bulbs which are made when the original bulb is 
divided. 

Soil. — Cool, rather moist land, preferably level, con- 
taining an abundance of quickly available plant food and 
well drained, . should be selected for onion growing. It is 
essential that the soil be in the best possible tilth at seed- 
ing time, so that the young plants may not be handicapped 
in their early efforts to secure a good ''foothold." 

It is best to prepare onion land the previous fall, thus 
allowing the surface to become weathered. A disking or 
several harrowing in the spring will put the soil in suit- 
able condition for the reception of the seed. Heavy ap- 
plications of barnyard manure made a year before the 
plowing of the land for onions give important increases 
in yield. Land which has been in clover for a few years 
and has not been severely cropped makes a very satis- 
factory onion soil. Where barnyard manure is applied 
the same year the seed is to be sown it should be well 
rotted. It is not advisable to apply coarse raw manure 
just before sowing. Commercial fertilizers are usually to 
be preferred, as the plant food in them is more readily 
appropriated. Wood ashes as a top dressing applied in 
the fall, but preferably in the spring, improve the texture 
of the soil and augment the supply of available potash 
and phosphoric acid. Exceedingly careful treatment of the 
surface soil is required in successful onion culture. The 
crop is not difficult to grow' if the conditions are right. 

Seeding. — The seed should be sown as soon in the spring 
as the soil is in proper condition. Early seeding is neces- 
sary in order that the plants may become established 
before the dry, hot weather of summer. Onions revel in 
a cool season. These are sufficient reasons for early 
seeding. In ordinary garden practice the seed is sown in 



ONION. 43 

rows about a foot apart, often in "beds," 20 to 30 seeds 
being sown per linear foot. Hand seeding is practiced. 
Commercial onion growers, however, use hand seed drills, 
of which there are several successful types. In New York 
state, Ohio, Wisconsin, Colorado and in parts of several 
other states onion growing is an important industry, and 
in recent years marked progress has been made in the 
machinery utilized in handling the crop. To avoid hand 
labor and thus reduce the cost of production has been the 
aim of growers. Those who make a business of growing 
onions are particular to secure the best quality of seed, 
as a good stand is half the crop, and plant in rows as 
straight as they can be run. These rows are usually about 
14 inches apart. About 5 lbs. of seed per acre is required. 
If the soil has been well prepared, free from clods and well 
fined three or four inches down, the plants will become es- 
tablished under favorable conditions, and if the necessary 
plant food is available rapid growth will be made. 

Cultivation. — Cultivation should be persistent. At the 
outset hand wheel-hoes are used. One-horse Aveeders are 
employed after the plants have attained considerable 
growth. If the land is inclined to be weedy the onion field 
will usually require to be weeded by hand once or twice 
during the season. To avoid this, land for onions should 
be the cleanest to be had. Commercial growers do not prac- 
tice thinning the plants; they rely on the seed drills to 
distribute the seed so that thinning will not be necessary. 
Cultivation should be continued until the crop is "made." 
Tillage which merely skims the surface and maintains a 
dust mulch is best. Hand hoeing often becomes necessary 
where a foul piece of land has been selected. 

Harvesting. — When the tops die down the crop is ready 
to harvest. This is done by pulling the onions out by hand 
and throwing several rows together in a small windrow, 
in which they are allowed to cure for three or four days. 
If a special market is catered to, however, it is often ad- 
visable to cure the onions in a cool, dry place under cover, 
in a loft for example, where the tubers are spread in a 
thin layer over the floor. After they have cured the tops 
are clipped off with a shoe knife or strong shears, cutting 
them off about half an inch about the bulb. There has 
recently been invented an onion topping machine which is 
practical and used extensively by large growers. The 
tops should be cut off clean, but care should be taken not 
to injure any of the live tissue of the bulb itself. Some 
growers remove the tops before the onions are harvested, 



44 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

as this expedites the work. When stored they must be 
clean and perfectly dry. 

If the crop is uneven, as usually is the case, it is best 
to grade the tubers. The work will pay in better prices 
received on the market. They are graded by passing them 
over a rack with a slat bottom, the slats being placed 
such distances apart as to allow the large onions to pass 
-over and the small ones to drop through the meshes. The 
rack is placed in a slanting position so that the tubers are 
easily worked toward the lower end into barrels. Put 
them in a frost-proof place where absolute dryness is as- 
sured. Winter onion houses in the north are usually pro- 
vided with heat. Freezing does not injure mature onions 
if they are allowed very gradually to thaw. They may 
therefore be stored in the loft on the north side, where the 
sun does not strike the roof, and covered several inches 
•dep with loose hay or stray. In the spring the covering is 
removed and the onions slowly thaw. This method can 
be practiced with safety, however, only where the winters 
are comparatively uniform in temperature; at least where 
violent fluctuations in temperature do not occur. Most 
commercial growers prefer to sell the crop in the fall, and 
have occasion to use only temporary storage. For this pur- 
pose an open shed, constructed much the same as a corn- 
crib, is used. The floor is a few inches above the surface, 
with spaces half an inch between the planks, the sides of 
the shed being composed of slats. If the onions are dry and 
clean when stored away they may be placed several feet 
deep in this crib. Proximity to large markets and proper 
facilities enable growers to realize handsome profits from 
onion growing. A good crop is 300 to 400 bushels per acre. 
More than 750 bushels are often grown on an acre. 

The large red Wethersfield is a good cropper in the north, 
while for outdoor seeding the Yellow Globe Danvers is a 
favorite. There are many other varieties adapted to differ- 
ent conditions. 

Enemies. — Smut is often found on the young plants, to 
be treated by transplanting, or applying a mixture of sul- 
phur and lime in che drill when the seeds are put in. 

Cutworms are common enemies of the onion as well as 
other plants. See treatment under Corn. 

POPCORN: 

A small eared variety of corn, the kernels of which 
expand greatly or pop under the application of heat. 
There are two varieties of popcorn : one has a kernel 
resembling flint corn; the other is rice popcorn which has 



POTATO. 45 

a sharp pointed kernel. Popcorn is grown the same as 
field corn and should be planted about 80 rods from other 
varieties of corn or it will cross with them. The corn pops 
best when two years old. The diseases and insects af- 
fecting popcorn are the same as those described under 
corn. 

POTATO : 

Common field and garden plant, or one of the tubers 
borne by the plant; about 200,000,000 bushels are grown 
annually in the United States. 

Soil. — A rich, sandy loam well drained and well sup- 
plied with vegetable matter is best. Stiffer land may be 
improved by green manuring and drainage, and lighter 
soils can often be made sufficiently rich by the addition 
of green manures and fertilizers. Newly cleared land is 
excellent, giving a good yield. 

Potatoes should be alternated with other crops to 
prevent scab. Barnyard manure is the best fertilizer, 
but should be applied to the ground a year or two before 
the land is cropped to potatoes. If commercial fertil- 
izers are used, a mixture containing nitrogen in form of 
nitrate of soda, phosphoric acid as superphosphate and 
potash as sulphate, and in which potash is strong, is rec- 
ommended. Preparation of land should be deep and 
thorough. 

Planting. — Planting without ridging generally affords 
the larger yields, but a stiff soil and the desire for an 
extra early crop sometimes calls for ridge planting. The 
best time for planting depends upon the local climate. 
It should be so timed as to bring the period when the 
tubers are rapidly forming, at a date when there is a 
good average rainfall. Planting is done by machine, 
dropping by hand and plowing in or covering with a hand 
hoe. Rows should be 3 feet apart and the seed pieces 16 
to 18 inches apart in the row. On mellow, well- drained 
soil, deep planting (3 to 5 inches) is best, especially 
when the season happens to be dry. For the early crop 
or on stiff soil with a tendency to bake the depth of 
planting may be decreased. 

It is generally advisable to plant 15 to 30 bushels of 
seed (halved or quartered potatoes) per acre. 

Seed Potatoes. — The tuber should be cut into compact 
pieces of nearly uniform size, the majority of pieces hav- 
ing two, three or more eyes. 



46 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Cultivation. — A harrow with the teeth set backward 
should be run over the ground just as the plants appear 
above the ground. This will destroy the young weeds 
and will not harm the plants. When the rows are cul- 
tivated they should not be hilled up, particularly if 
there be any danger from dry weather. The ground be- 
tween the rows should be kept mellow and level, a small 
ridge being worked toward the hill about blossoming 
time. 

Harvesting. — For early use dig as soon as the tubers 
are large enough to eat. The main crop is dug only when 
the vines die. Often the tubers are allowed to remain 
in the ground until tne first light frosts. Digging is 
done on a large scale by use of one of several machines 
on the market or by means of a potato fork. Potatoes 
are commonly stored in the cellar for winter use or sale 
though well banked and covered field pits are used where 
the yield is large and the sale not immediate. Stored 
potatoes will stand 33° F., without freezing, and should 
be kept from warmth, which favors sprouting. 

Varieties. — The following are among the most widely 
known varieties: 

Early. — Early Ohio, Early Rose, Beauty of Hebron, and 
Triumph. Medium and late — Burbank, Rural New Yorker 
No. 2, Empire State, Mammoth Pearl, White Star and 
Dakota Red. 

These are standard varieties, and though not necessarily 
the best, they seem to have given general satisfaction. 

Double Cropping. — In the south two crops of potatoes are • 
frequently grown in the same year on the same land. Small 
potatoes from the early crop furnish the seed and are usually 
planted whole. Second crop potatoes keep better than first 
crop for keeping and are popular for seed. 

Diseases. — Brown rot occurs in many parts of the south, 
attacking egg-plants and tomatoes as well as potatoes. The 
vines suddenly wilt, the vines and stems turning black or 
brown, after which the tubers rot. Spraying such as rec- 
ommended for early blight is the remedy. 

Early blight, checking the growth of the tuber as soon 
as the plant is attacked, shows in small, gray spots after- 
wards becoming brown and dry, the entire leaf afterwards 
turning brown and curling up. Spraying with Bordeaux 
mixture will check its ravages. 

This is prepared and applied as follows: Pour into a 
fifty-gallon barrel twenty-five gallons of clean water; then 
weigh out six pounds of crushed bluestone, or copper sul- 



POTATO. i7 

phate, and after tying it in a piece of coarse sacking sus- 
pend the package just beneath the surface of the water by 
means of a string tied to a stick laid across the top of the 
barrel. In another suitable vessel, such as a tub or half 
barrel, slack four pounds of fresh lime. Slack the lime 
carefully by pouring on small quantities of water at a time, 
the object being to obtain a smooth, creamy liquid, free from 
grit. When the lime is slacked add sufficient water to make 
twenty-five gallons. As soon as the bluestone is dissolved, 
which will require an hour or more, pour the lime milk 
and bluestone solutions together, using a separate barrel 
for the purpose and stirring constantly to effect a thorough 
mixing. It sometimes happens that sufficient lime is not 
added, and as a result the foliage may be injured. To be 
certain that the mixture is safe, hold a steel knife blade 
in it for two or three minutes., and if the polished surface 
of the blade shows a copper-colored tinge add more lime, 
but if it stays bright the mixture is safe to use. Applica- 
tion of the mixture should begin when the plants are four 
to six inches high, and should be repeated at intervals of 
twelve to fourteen days until five or six treatments have 
been made. By adding eight ounces of Paris green to each 
barrel of the Bordeaux mixture a combined fungicide and 
insectide is obtained, and this will prevent the attacks of 
the Colorado potato beetle, the flea beetle, and other in- 
sects. Before adding the Paris green it should be mixed 
with a small quantity of water, and when a thin paste 
is obtained this should be thoroughly stirred into the barrel 
of Bordeaux solution. 

Scab, a fungous growth affecting the tuber, is often 
found after heavy applications of stable manure. A mix- 
ture of 8 fluid ounces of commercial formalin (40 per cent 
formic aldehyde) with 15 gallons of water, used as a dip 
for seed potatoes is the best remedy. 

Late blight, attacking the leaves, stems and tubers, is a 
rapid-spreading disease which should be treated the» same 
as early blight. 

The Colorado potato beetle is one of the most common 
pests, the striped beetles and their reddish larvae being 
familiar to every farmer. In gardens they are sometimes 
gathered by hand and destroyed by burning or with gero- 
sene. In the field, Paris green or London purple mixed with 
flour or plaster or in solution for spraying is the com- 
mon remedy. 

The stalk weevil, an ash-gray beetle sometimes infesting 
the potato, may be destroyed by spraying. 



48 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

The potato worm of the Pacific coast which bores in the 
stalk, later working down to the tuber, may be destroyed 
by burning the tops as soon as possible. 

Blister beetles, so named from the irritation produced on 
the skin when encountered, attack many cultivated plants 
as well as potatoes. Arsenical poisons are fatal to them 
or they may be destroyed by knocking off into water having 
kerosene on the surface. 

Many other insects attack the potato, such as various 
wire worms, beetles, etc. 

RAPE: 

Rape is especially relished by sheep and swine, yields 
heavily, is very succulent, and will continue to grow until 
freezing weather. It grows best in a cool, moist climate, but 
is quite resistant to drouth. Dwarf Essex is the most re- 
liable variety. 

If land is not rich, manure well and prepare thoroughly 
as for a root crop. Drill with a grain drill, stopping two out 
of every three holes. Seed at the rate of five pound per 
acre. Cultivate with a harrow or weeder when plants are 
young. This crop starts quickly and grows rapidly, and will 
soon shade the ground and keep down weeds. 

It is sometimes seeded with the spring varieties of 
small grain. In such cases seeding should not take place 
until the grain is well up. lest the rape get the start of 
the grain. As so little seed is required, this entails very 
little expense, and if the season is favorable, a large amount 
of feed will be produced after the grain is cut off. 

Still another plan that frequently meets with success 
/s to sow in corn at the last cultivation. The amount of 
feed that the rape will make in such cases will depend upon 
the condition of the corn growth and moisture supply. If 
the corn is of good rank growth, the rape can make but" 
little feed. 

RED CLOVER: 

In the Eastern states this is the most extensively and 
commonly cultivated of all leguminous^ hay plants. Clover 
hay is the standard of excellence by which the feeding value 
of all other leguminous crops is measured. 

Red clover is usually sown with a grain crop, so that it 
will cover the field after the latter has been harvested. 
The seed weighs from 60 to 64 pounds to the bushel, and 
from 12 to 16 pounds are used per acre. 

See Clover for cultivation, etc. 



RED FESCUE. RICE. 49 

RED FESCUE: 

This perennial creeping grass grows along the Atlantic 
coast of the New England and Middle states, and in the 
Northern states, extending westward to the Pacific. A 
great number of forms and varieties occur throughout its 
range. It makes a close, fine-leafed turf, and grows well on 
sandy fields and dry sterile, sandy uplands. The seed 
weighs 14 pounds to the bushel, and it should be sown at 
the rate of 2y 2 bushels per acre alone, or a small amount in 
mixture with other grasses. This and orchard grass grow 
well in the shade and are good grasses to sow in woodland 
pastures. 

REDTOP: 

A native grass, ranging across the northern portions of 
the continent. In the north it is the standard grass for wet 
meadows. Redtop grows naturally on marshy meadows, 
and is best suited for cultivation in such places. 

RESCUE GRASS: 

This is apparently a native of the southwest, and was one 
of the first native grasses to be brought into cultivation. 
It is known as Australian oats, Australian brome, Arctic 
grass and Schcrader's brome. Although usually an annual 
repeated cuttings or persistent grazing will prevent seed 
bearing, and so enable the plant to live several years. It 
grows best on rich, loamy soil, and in most localities should 
be treated as an annual, as it is soon crowded out by other 
grasses on land which has not recently been plowed. 

Seed should be sown in August or September at the rate 
of from 30 to 40 pounds per acre. 

RICE: 

A plant of the grass family, of a single species, culti- 
vated in all warm climates, where its grain is used for food 
and its straw for various purposes. 

Varieties. — The two principal varieties of lowland rice 
cultivated in the Atlantic states are the gold-seed and the 
white rice. The principal variety hitherto planted in Louis- 
iana is the Honduras. The Japan rice, now in process of 
introduction, has a short and thick kernel and a thin hull ; 
the percentage of bran and polish is small; the straw is 
still green when the grain is ripe; the yield is very large. 
White rice is chiefly grown on lands that are low, level, 
and easily irrigated. There are varieties which may be 
grown on fertile upland without irrigation. 



50 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Soil. — The best soil for rice is a medium loam contain- 
ing about 50 per cent of clay. The alluvial lands along the 
southern rivers where they can be drained, are well adapted 
to rice cultivation. The rich drift soils of Louisiana and 
Texas prairies have shown marvelous adaptation to rice. 
The best soils are underlaid by an impervious subsoil, 
otherwise the land cannot be satisfactorily drained at the 
time of harvest in order to permit the use of improved 
harvesting machinery. Gravelly or sandy lands are not 
adapted to rice cultivation. 

Irrigation. — The fields range in size from 60 to 80 acres 
on the prairies of southwestern Louisiana down to one or 
two acres along the banks of the Mississippi River. The 
entire surface of each field should be nearly level so that 
irrigation water will stand about the same depth. The 
tract of land selected and inclosed is cut up by small canals 
into the fields or sub-fields, of suitable size. 

Plowing. — In the South Atlantic States the land is often 
plowed or dug over with a hoe early in the winter. In 
southern Louisiana the land is so low and wet and the 
soil so stiff as to necessitate plowing in the water. Deep 
plowing is advocated by the best authorities, particularly 
if the soil is well drained. If it brings too much alkali to 
the surface the remedy is to plow a little deeper than the 
previous plowing just after harvest. 

For dry culture the land is prepared very much as for 
a crop of oats. 

Drainage. — 'Perfect drainage is one of the most impor- 
tant conditions in rice culture. Either tiling must be em- 
ployed or the water must be controlled by open ditches, the 
main ones at least 3 inches in depth. 

Sowing. — The seed should be free from weeds and uni- 
formity of the kernel should be looked after. It may be 
sown between the middle of March and the middle of May, 
but in most cases should be sown about April 20 for best 
results, as soon as advisable after spring plowing. Where 
there are several fields they should be planted at different 
periods so that the harvest will not be crowded. One to 3 
bushels is the amount per acre. Drilling is preferable to 
broadcasting, which is the common method. 

Flooding. — Flooding is not practiced unless necessary 
to start the seed, until the rice is 6 to 8 inches high. The 
water should stand 3 to 6 inches deep and be renewed by 
continuous inflow and outflow. If the stand is thin the 
water should be deeper, and always should be of uniform 
depth all over the field. 



RICE. 51 

Fertilizing. — Eiee is not hard on the soil, especially if 
the straw and chaff are returned regularly to it. However, 
there is very little information on the subject of fertilizers 
as affecting rice. 

Weeds and Grasses. — To every tiller of rice lands the 
rapid increase of injurious grasses becomes a serious diffi- 
culty, as the conditions favorable to the growth of rice 
are also favorable to the growth of grasses. The follow- 
ing methods are the most generally applied: Hand weed- 
ing is very beneficial but too slow and expensive to be gen- 
erally employed. Hoeing and burning the grasses after the 
rice is harvested destroys them but leaves the land bare to 
be parched by the hot sun. Winter flooding has been at- 
tempted so as to destroy the grass by drowning it out dur- 
ing the winter, but has not been very successful. Early 
planting and mowing is sometimes resorted to, both rice and 
grass being mowed when they have a good start, but this 
materially reduces the yield of the rice. Fall plowing and 
harrowing or a thorough disking immediately after harvest 
if the weather is warm enough, is quite effective against in- 
jurious grasses and red rice. Red rice is a wild variety 
having red grains and causes the rice growers some annoy- 
ance and loss, as a few grains lower the grade and reduce 
the price; it increases rapidly. Seed must be carefully 
watched to see that it is free from red rice and if acciden- 
tally planted it must be prevented from maturing. 

Harvesting. — Reaping machines are generally used in 
the prairie districts of Louisiana and Texas, but in the other 
rice producing sections such machines can only be used to a 
limited extent if at all, as the ground is not dry and firm 
in the harvest time. Where reaping machines cannot be 
used the sickle takes their place, the rice being cut from 
6 to 12 inches from the ground and the grain laid upon 
the stubble to keep it off the wet soil and allow the air 
to circulate about it. After a day's curing the grain is 
removed from the field; it is then shocked on dry ground, 
the bundles braced carefully against each other and the 
shock carefully capped with the heads of the capping bundles 
falling on the north side to avoid the sun, preventing some 
cracked and chalky kernels. The steam thresher is fast 
taking the place of nailing or treading out, though its use 
frequently involves considerable loss through breakage and 
waste of grain. 

Yield. — In South Carolina and Georgia the average 
yield is from 8 to 12 barrels per aere; in southwestern 
Louisiana it averages a little more. 



52 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Milling. — The rice as it comes from the thresher is 
known as paddy from the rough rice being the grain proper 
with its enclosing husk. By a complicated process these 
husks are separated from the grain and polished when it is 
ready for market. 

RYE: 

Common cereal or its seeds, somewhat resembling wheat; 
grown in the United States for its grain, used for flour 
and malting, and for forage purposes. Rye-straw is used in 
paper making. It is hardier in its habits than wheat, both 
as to soil and cold. It makes excellent green manure, and 
is often utilized as such after having been pastured. Where 
stock are allowed to run in cornfields after husking, a great 
amount of feed is saved by sowing the field to rye at the 
last cultivation. In the south it affords three to four forage 
crops for fall and winter cutting. 

Soil. — To secure a large yield of grain and heavy forage 
a light, fertile, well-drained loam is best. When grown for 
grain a dryish sandy soil not too rich produces the best 
results. 

Seeding. — For preparation of the ground see wheat, as 
the two are similar. If the soil be poor, rye is put in a lit- 
tle earlier than whent, usually about the same time. Drill- 
ing is usually preferable to broadcasting, about 3 to 4 
pecks per acre, 1 to 2y 2 inches deeep being usually sown. 
Heavier seeding (1% to 3 bushels on heavy soils or late 
seeding or 3 bushels for forage) is common. 

Harvesting. — Rye is an early ripener, winter sorts com- 
ing to maturity before wheat. Because of the heaviness of 
the bundle and the slipperiness of the straw it is usually 
threshed from the shock. The crop is cut when the kernels 
are in the dough, the straw having started to turn. 

Uses. — Besides the uses already spoken of, is sometimes 
fed to stock. For hog-feed it about equals barley, though 
it must be fed cautiously; for milch cows it is avoided as 
giving the milk a bitter flavor. The straw is practically 
valueless for stock on account of its coarseness. 

Enemies. — Rye is subject to about the same enemies 
as wheat, which see. 

SAND VETCH: 

Sand or hairy vetch is an annual, a native of western Asia, 
end has been cultivated in this country and Europe for about 50 



SAND VETCH. SORGHUM. 53 

years. Seed was first brought to this country by the De- 
partment of Agriculture, and now its desirability as a forage 
crop has become established, and it is being cultivated each 
year on a more and more extensive scale, principally in the 
south. In the north it i9 seldom grown as winter forage 
because of the severity of the season. 

SORGHUM: 

A tall, slender, reed-like plant extensively grown as a 
forage plant and for its juice, which is used in making mo- 
lasses and sugar. 

Soil.— Similar to that for corn, though it need not be 
bo rich. 

Planting. — Where the land is weedy the crop is usually 
put in hills 3y 2 feet apart each way, 20 to 25 seed in a 
hill and covered one to threee inches. Later the hill ia 
thinned down to 6 stalks. When drilled in, rows are about 
three and one-half feet apart and the plants one-half foot 
apart in the row. It may be planted the last of May or 
later, after corn planting time. Weeds should be got rid of 
as soon as possible or they will kill the tender growing 
plants. 

Besides being put in in rows for the cane, sorghum is 
extensively used in the dry parts of the south, southwest 
and west as forage. 

Harvesting. — Cane sorghum is cut when the seed is in 
the hard dough. Hay sorghum is cut when the seed is about 
half ripe. It is put up and handled about the same as hay 
but must be thoroughly cured or it will spoil. It should 
be fed early in the winter. Ten tons is a fair yield. 

Use. — Sorghum pasture furnishes an excellent feed for 
dairy herds, sheep and hogs. After the hay is made stock 
can secure a good living from the cut-over ground. The 
same precautions as are used in turning stock onto clover 
should be observed with sorghum pasture. 

Varieties. — Early Amber and Minnesota Early Amber 
are favorite varieties in the north and west, while the 
Orange varieties do well in the south and southwest. 

Enemies. — Blight sometimes attacks the growing plants, 
turning them brown and working downward to the roots. 
Burning the infected stalks and rotation of crops are rec- 
ommended. 

Smut attacks either the grain or the entire head of 
the plant. Head smut may be treated the same as oat smut, 
which see. 



54 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

SOYBEAN: 

One of the staple crops of Japan, which attracted little 
attention in this country until about 10 years ago, but i3 
now becoming common. The crop is cultivated like corn, 
the seed being planted in drills at the rate of half a bushel 
per acre. The stems alone are too coarse to make good 
hay, but are covered with such a dense growth of leaves and 
are so prolific in fruit that the hay is prized highly, es- 
pecially for milch cows and for fattening animals. The 
yield of green forage is very heavy when grown on good 
soil, and the yield of beans is usually from 20 to 30 bushels 
per acre. 

SUGAR CANE: 

The cane or plant, from the juice of which sugar is ob- 
tained. Sugar cane is grown in all of the Gulf states, 
Louisiana being the principal sugar-producing state. 

Soil. — Any well drained soil where water is abundant 
produces sugar cane if the climate is suitable. The best 
soil, however, is a rich alluvial bottom land. 

Planting. — Planting is done at various times, in the 
fall, early winter or in the spring, the late fall or early 
winter planting bringing early spring growth. This is 
usually preferred in Louisiana. 

Depending on the locality, the rows should be from 5 
to 7 feet apart, the stalks being from 6 to 12 inches in the 
row. To produce the plants the canes are planted in a 
furrow and covered, these canes sprouting every 6 or 12 
inches at the node. 

Louisiana cane fields are good for from one to three 
years, while in tropical and semi-tropical countries, as Cuba, 
a field lasts for five to twenty years. 

Harvesting. — Before the coming of a heavy frost is the 
time to harvest cane, the leaves being stripped off in the 
field. The upper joint is also removed. The yield of sugar 
cane is from 10 to 40 tons per acre. Each ton of cane will 
yield 150 to 300 pounds of sugar. Besides the sugar, mo- 
lasses may be extracted. 

Sugar Making. — For the economical manufacture of 
sugar a large plant is necessary. It may, however, be 
made in small quantities by a comparatively simple ap- 
paratus. 

Varieties. — There are two varieties of cane: the purpls 
and the striped. This last is sometimes known as Red Rib- 
bon cane. There is not much difference in the value of these 



SUGARCANE. SWEET POTATO. 55 

two canes. Japanese is a cane that resists cold with success 

and is sometimes grown in the northern tier of sugar states. 

Enemies. — There has been little investigation of the 

various diseases and insects which attack the sugar cane. 

SUGAR BEET: 

A strain of common beet, which by selection has been 
eo improved as to contain more than a normal amount of 
sugar. 

Soil. — The most favorable soil for the sugar beet is a 
heavy, well drained clay loam fertile and deep. Sandy soil 
produces an earlier maturing crop but the quantity is not 
so great. Clay soils should be avoided, as the roots are 
unable to take hold, forcing the beet partially above ground. 

Fall plowing is the best for beets, a better seed bed being 
furnished by the mellow soil. Beets are not particularly 
hard upon the land. 

Planting. — As early as the seed will sprout it should be 
planted, usually the last of April or first of May. Drill 
18 inches apart, the seed being covered about Vainch to 1% 
inches, depending upon the soil. When the beets have four 
leaves they should be thinned to about 8 inches in the row, 
cultivation and weeding having begun as soon as they were 
up. Deep cultivation should be avoided, shallow working of 
the soil being done about once every week or ten days. 

Harvesting. — When the outside leaves droop and show 
yellow the beets are ready for pulling. Like potatoes, they 
may remain in the soil for a considerable time after ripen- 
ing. Freezing does not hurt, but alternate freezing and 
thawing ruins the beets for any purpose, besides causing them 
to rot. Harvesting is done by plowing on one or both side3 
of the rows so as to expose the beets, when they may be 
removed by hand. There are also special beet pullers on the 
market. Twenty tons per acre is a good yield, the cost of 
growing being about $40.00. Sugar beets sell for about $4.50 
a ton delivered at the factory. 

Varieties. — Vilmoran Improved and Kleinwanzlebener 
are the two varieties which are usually grown for sugar. 

Uses. — Sugar beets are valuable for stock feeding, and 
the residue after extraction of the sugar makes a coarse 
food. 

SWEET POTATO: 

A low, trailing vine producing esculent roots. The 
increase of interest in the sweet potato as an article of food 



56 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

is both a cause and result of improvements in varieties, 
methods of propagating, shipping and cooking. The value 
of the sweet-potato vines and roots for stock feeding is also 
beginning to be understood. 

Types. — General markets call for a few types and give 
little attention to names of varieties. For instance, New 
Jersey growers have created a reputation for their sweet 
potatoes, and now more "Jersey Sweets" are sold than 
that state produces. 

Varieties. — Any person not familiar with sweet potatoes 
who wishes to plant, would do well to consult the most 
successful growers of bis vicinity and to buy from them 
plants or tubers for propagation. 

Soil. — The best soil for the sweet potato is a light, 
well-drained, but not leachy, sandy loam that will not ad- 
here to the potatoes. If the best quality is desired, soil9 
which have an excess of organic matter should be avoided. 
Excellent sweet potato lands abound on the Atlantic 
slope from New Jersey to Florida, in some parts of the 
Mississippi Valley, and in the arid regions, where irriga- 
tion is required. 

Propagation of Plants. — Unlike the Irish potato, the 
sweet potato rarely blossoms and never matures seed in 
northern latitudes. At the south, pieces of the tuber are 
sometimes planted as Irish potatoes are planted at the 
north. This method is not practicable where the summers 
are short, or anywhere if the object is to produce an early 
crop, because pieces of sweet potato planted early, when the 
ground is not warm, are apt to rot without sprouting, if 
the conditions of the soil and the weather do not prove to be 
especially favorable. Even at the south it is expensive, 
and there is little to recommend it. This is the direct 
method. 

Two methods of propagating indirectly from tubers are 
employed. The first and more common method is to place 
the tubers close, without touching one another, in a hotbed, 
or, later in the season, in a cold frame, and cover wdth two 
or three inches of sand or loose earth that will not bake, 
about six weeks before the time for setting out plants. The 
tubers thus bedded throw up sprouts which put out roots, 
and so become individual plants ready to be transplanted 
to the field. 

The other method i3 to place the tubers in a bed as in 
the first method, only further apart, or, later in the season, 
in rows in the field without bottom heat or cover, and in- 
stead of separating the rooted slips from the tubers and 



SWEET POTATO. 57 

transplanting them, they are allowed to produce vines from 
which cuttings are made and set in the field. 

Some planters in Delaware and Maryland take cuttings 
from their vines in the field in June or July and plant them 
to produce small tubers, which are used the next spring 
for propagating plants for the main crop. The product is 
called the "slip seed" to distinguish it from "crop seed," by 
which is meant the small tubers of the regular crop, which 
are commonly used to produce plants. 

Large growers propagate their plants in plant houses 
heated by furnaces and covered with muslin or "plant-bed 
cloth." After the sprouts appear the cover is rolled up or 
removed in fine weather to harden the plants before trans- 
planting. 

Planting. — Where the plants are set in rows one way 
only, a distance of 18 inches between plants is recommended. 
When planted in checks for working both ways, they must 
be at least 2 feet apart. The only advantage of planting in 
checks is that it saves something in hand labor on grassy 
ground. For planting by hand the ground should be moist 
but not wet. If it is very dry, the plants should be watered 
as soon as convenient after planting. Men have been known 
to plant by hand, with the assistance of a boy to drop the 
plants, 10,000 plants in ten hours, but 5,000 may be con- 
sidered a good average day's work. 

Cultivation. — Sweet potatoes require frequent cultiva- 
tion and as much hand work as may be necessary to keep 
them free from weeds and grass until the vines take complete 
possession. If the work has been thoroughly done up to this 
time there will be no trouble with weeds and grass later. 

Harvesting. — A small crop of sweet potatoes may be 
thrown out by a common turning plow provided with a re- 
volving coulter or other device for cutting the vines, but 
such a plow leaves many of the tubers covered and the labor 
of gathering them is much greater than when a special sweet 
potato plow is used. In large operations one of the most 
efficient implements for harvesting is the "scoop digger" 
which passes under the tubers and severs all roots, but 
leaves the plant, with vines and roots cut, in the same posi- 
tion it occupied before. The tubers remain attached to 
the stem and are easily and rapidly lifted out of the ground. 

Yield. — Under favorable conditions, in check planting a 
barrel of primes from 100 hills is a good yield, or a barrel 
from 125 plants 18 inches apart in a row. In a good crop 



58 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

there -may be a barrel of seconds to every five barrels of 
primes, more or less, according to the method of sorting. 

TALL OAT-GRASS: 

This is a perennial species which grows in loose tufts and 
throws up an abundance of leaves and tall stalks. It is well 
adapted to rich upland soils and when once established is one 
of the best drouth-resistant cultivated grasses. 

It makes its heaviest growth the second year, and thrives 
better on southern exposure than on cold northern ones. 
It may be sown alone or in mixtures with other grasses. In 
mixtures, the quantity of tall oat-grass should not exceed 
one-fifth to the total amount sown. The seed weighs about 
10 pounds to the bushel. 

TEOSINTE: 

A rank grass often reaching 12 feet in height. It needs 
a long season of hot weather, a rich soil and abundant mois- 
ture in order to succeed well, and it is useless to plant it 
where all these conditions can not be had. If cut when it 
reaches 4 or 5 feet in height it makes an excellent fodder, 
and will produce a second crop fully as large as the first. 

The seed, 1 to 3 pounds per acre, should be planted in 
hills 4 to 5 feet apart each way, about cotton-planting time 
and the crop cultivated like corn. The greater distance should 
be given on the richer soils. 

TEXAS BLUEGRASS: 

This is emphatically a winter-growing species. In favor- 
able location it begins its growth in October, and from No- 
vember to May furnishes abundance of luxuriant pastur- 
age. It matures its seed in April and from the first of June 
until October makes but little growth. Owing to the diffi- 
culty of propagation it has been very slow in coming into 
general cultivation. 

TIMOTHY: 

The most widely cultivated of all the tame grasses, and 
timothy hay is the standard of excellence with which all 
other hays are compared. It is usually considered and 
treated as a short-lived perennial, and hence is the best grass 
to grow in a short rotation. However, for permanent mead- 
ow lands there are other species which continue to produce 
a heavy yield through a much longer period. 

Timothy succeeds best on moist loams and clays natually 
rich in humus, or on those which have been heavily manured. 
It grows in the form of loose tufts, with a few short root 



TIMOTHY. TOBACCO. 59 

leaves, so that red top or red clover is usually sown with 
it to furnish a heavy bottom growth of leaves. 

The amount of seed sown ranges from 8 to 16 quarts to the 
acre when sown alone. If sown with red clover the amounts 
range from 6 to 8 quarts of timothy and 8 to 10 pounds of 
clover seed per acre. On rich and well-prepared land, which 
is capable of sustaining the maximum number of plants and 
of producing the maximum crop, a much heavier seeding 
should be used, ranging from 15 to 20 quarts of timothy if 
sown alone or from 10 to 15 quarts of each of the grasses 
used in mixture. 

For seed, timothy should be cut about the time the head 
turns in color. In those of the priarie states, where the 
growing of timothy seed is one of the principal industries, 
the grass is cut with a twine binder, in the same manner as 
small grain, and this process has been recommended for more 
extensive practice, because of the greater facility with which 
the crop may be handled. 

TOBACCO: 

Cultivated throughout the temperate and tropical zones 
for its leaves, which possess norcotic qualities; also the 
leaves of the various varieties of the plant. 

Soil. — The kind of tobacco is influenced greatly by the 
soil upon which it is raised. There is a large difference 
between the soils yielding tobacco, ranging from sandy pine 
barrens to heavy clay soils. A light sandy soil produces a 
delicate leaf, later coloring to mahogany or yellow, while 
heavy shipping tobaccos mark a growth from a heavy clay 
soil. 

Fertilizers. — Tobacco is no more exhausting to the soil 
than corn. The addition of fertilizers increases the yield 
greatly, those most important being nitrogen, potash and 
lime. Barnyard manure or any green manure crop, as 
clover, gives the soil adapted to the raising of smoking, 
chewing and maunfacturing tobaccos. There is a large 
range of commercial fertilizers used, as cottonseed-meal, 
dried blood, potash, wood ashes, etc. 

Seeding. — Very fertile old land, if free from weeds, is 
excellent for tobacco, but the best ground is that newly 
cleared. To furnish the plants potash and thoroughly to 
destroy insects and the seeds of weeds, ground for tobacco 
is usually burned over, brush or wood being piled on the 
bed, being allowed to burn for some time and the fire then 
moved. The surface soil is then thoroughly pulverized pre- 
liminary to seeding. 

One tablespoonful of seed is allowed to 100 square yards, 



60 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

this giving plants enough for at least six acres. In two 
weeks or less germination of the seed takes place, being 
shown by white spots which appear on the seed. To pro- 
tect the plants from changes of weather, seed beds should 
have a covering of thin cloth. Young tobacco plants are 
not at all hardy and should be treated with great care 
and forced by the addition of weak liquid manure. Seven 
or eight weeks after planting the plants may be transplanted, 
the field having been prepared very thoroughly. This trans- 
planting should be done as soon as possible after the date 
on which the last killing frost has occurred in the locality 
and should be completed within a month. The distance apart 
varies somewhat in different localities, but a general rule 
is from 3 to 3% feet apart each way. Sometimes the land 
is checked 4 by 4 feet in order that cultivation may be 
continued longer. For the smaller and finer varieties of 
manufacturing tobacco the checks may be 3 feet or 3 feet 
3 inches square. In Cuba and southern Florida where hand 
cultivation is still largely practiced, the rows are made 2 
feet 6 inches apart and the plants are set from 12 to 18 
inches apart in the row. 

There are two methods of planting: by hand or with a 
planter. In hand planting the plants are dropped at regular 
intervals by one person and placed in the ground with a 
dibble by another. 

Cultivation. — In 10 days or two weeks after the plants 
have been set ou the row should be hoed, later to be cul- 
tivated with a cultivator or sweep, throwing a little earth 
to the plant. Cultivation should be shallow. When the' 
plants get of large size and begin to throw out buds they 
will be too large for horse cultivation. The field should 
thjn be kept clear of weeds and grass with a hoe. 

Topping is done by breaking off the top stalk bud. This 
is done to retain the nutritive substance in the leaf instead 
of letting the plant run to head. Strong vigorous plants 
are topped high, and it is necessary to go over the field 
several times to remove the buds. In cigar tobacco districts 
from 15 to 20 leaves are left on the plant. When the tobac- 
co is intended for cigar fillers a smaller number is left on. 
For export tobaccos and heavier types of manufacturing to- 
baccos from 10 to 12 leaves are left. 

Harvesting. — The time when the plant is ripe and ready 
to cut is a matter of judgment and experience. When the 
leaf changes color from rank green to a yellow shade, yellow- 
ish spots appearing, it is an indication that is it time to 
harvest. Another test is that of folding a leaf between the 



TOBACCO. WHEAT. 61 

fingers; if it snaps or keeps the crease where it was folded 
it is ripe. Where priming is done the leaves are 3trung on 
twine or on wires. Where the whole plant is cut it is al- 
lowed to wilt for several hours. When sufficiently wilted 
the tobacco is hung in the barn, all the worms and eggs 
being removed from the leaves. Great attention is paid to 
the handling of tobacco in the barn and there are many 
different methods of curing. 

Curing. — After the plant is wilted on the ground and 
brought to the barn it is left for about two months to cure. 
When thoroughly dry it is placed in piles to soften up. The 
leaves are then stripped from the stem and packed in 300- 
pound boxes where they are allowed to ferment or sweat. 
Different localities and different kinds of tobacco require 
different treatments and the reader is directed to the various 
books on this subject. 

Varieties. — The following are manufacturing varieties : 
Hester White, Burling Sweet, Orinoco, Hyco. There are a 
large number of different varieties in cultivation in differ- 
ent parts of the United States. 

Enemies. — Leaf spot, also known as frog-eye, affects 
the leaves turning them yellow and killing them. Dust- 
ing with sulphur or spraying with ammoniated solution of 
eopper carbonate is recommended. 

White speck is treated in the same manner. Stem rot 
is a disease affecting tobacco as in corn. Fumigation is a 
remedy for this, sulphur being used. Mosaic disease in which 
the leaves turn yellow has no known cure. 

Insect Pests. — Trouble with insects begins from the 
time the seed is sown and continues until after the tobacco 
is harvested and hung in the curing shed. The flea-beetle, 
often found on the plants, is destroyed by means of trap 
crops. The boll worm, described under cotton, also attacks 
tobacco. The bud worm which in the caterpillar stage 
damages the bud to a great extent is destroyed by spraying 
with arsenical poison. Fine cornmeal mixed with Paris 
green and applied to the plants is perhaps the best remedy. 
A small bug sucking the sap of tobacco leaves is known 
as the suck fly. Trap crops and clean culture are both 
recommended in fighting this pest. The cigarette beetle 
attacks tobacco when dry, the leaf tobacco being filled full 
of holes and destroyed for wrappers. It is common to most 
tobacco factories and destroys the manufactured products. 
Fumigation with bisulphide of carbon is recommended to 
rid a factory of this pest. 

WHEAT: 

A common field crop or its seed, furnishing flour for 



62 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

bread, and next to rice, the grain most generally used by 
the human race. Of the cereals grown in the United States 
wheat is second in acreage. It stands third in yield. It 
is grown — unlike the remainder of the grains — for human 
use, being rarely used for stock. 

Soil. — The most fertile soil is required for a good 
growth of wheat. Rich, well-drained clays, or heavy loams 
offer the best opportunity for large yields. Good yields 
are obtained from lighter soils when properly handled or 
when a favorable season is to be had. 

In preparing the seedbed early fall plowing is recom- 
mended as best. It should be folowed by harrowing to pre- 
vent growth of weeds and keep the top soil moist if winter 
wheat is to be sown a few weeks later. For spring wheat 
the ground should be left as it is plowed until spring. By 
this work before seeding the yield of grain is substantially 
increased. The depth of plowing is important in preparing 
the ground for cropping, as it gives greater root-feeding 
area. It is of more importance to have the seedbed firm, 
smooth and well worked. Subsoiling is not to be advised 
and summer fallowing does not appear to yield any impor- 
tant advantage. 

Wheat is grown over a wide range of territory. Methods 
of seeding therefore vary. In the great wheat country of the 
northwest plowing for the crop is done in the fall ; for the 
most part gang plows are employed, but steam plows are com- 
mon and the work is done upon an extensive scale. Disking 
or harrowing, or both in the spring, precedes sowing. Drills 
are used which cover a 10-foot strip. In some cases the 
old stubble is simply disked and the field reseeded. This 
is not a good practice. In the central states where wdieat 
growing in the aggregate is an important industry, plowing 
is done in the autumn and the seed drilled from the first 
of September to the first week in October. It is desirable 
to break the land in July or August and keep it in proper 
tilth by occasional harrowing or diskings until seeding time. 
Early sowing is deemed advisable in the spring wheat re- 
gions as well as where winter wheat is grown. Wheat 
often follows corn, being seeded after that crop is put in the 
shock, or between the rows at or after the last cultivation, 
but this is more for convenience than for a profitable yield 
of wheat in most instances. However, the standing stalks 
serve as a protection to the tender plants in such winter 
wheat sections as southern Minnesota. Wheat usually 
follows wheat in the common practice, but in the winter 
wheat section it often follows clover. 

Rolling land is to be recommended for light land or loose 
clays as in Red River Valley. 



WHEAT. 63 

Regarding the advisability of rolling wheat lands in the 
extreme west, it seems that the roller should never be used 
only on late plowing and then with caution. This is be- 
cause the rough land holds the moisture in better shape 
than it would if smoothed down and the dry winds have 
better access to it. Drilled rows usually run east and west. 

Seeding. — Spring wheat should be put in as early aa 
possible. In fact, it is the best rule to sow at a time that 
is held to be "early" in any section. Fall wheat should be 
put in from the first to the 20th of September in the north- 
ern states. The grain should be up and a good stand made, 
but not too rank a growth, before killing frosts come in 
the fall. 

Drilling is the most popular and economical method of 
seeding. One to three inches in depth for sowing is the 
general rule, though the drier the soil the greater the depth 
is true of wheat as well as of other grains. Early seeding 
and favorable weather conditions call for less amount of seed 
than the standard amount, which is 5 to 6 pecks per acre. 
Late seeding or broadcasting calls for one or two pecks 
more. Harrowing of winter wheat in the spring is thought 
to be unsafe, though often profitable, as is also pasturing 
the wheat during the winter and early spring months. 

Commercial fertilizers have never been used to any extent 
in either the west or the fertile Mississippi Valley. In the 
east, however, and in some of the southern states where 
the soil has become somewhat worn out fertilizers may be 
used to advantage. 

Catch crops may be followed by wheat to advantage. 
Clover is an excellent crop to precede wheat, as are any of 
the legumes, as the soil is much enriched by the nitrogen 
that they bring. 

Seed Bed Pointers. — Fall plow for spring wheat. Plow 
early for winter wheat and harrow to kill weeds and hold 
moisture. Disk or harrow in spring before seeding. Have 
the bed firm and finely prepared. Old stubble should be 
turned or completely covered. 

Harvesting. — Wheat is ready to cut when the grain is 
in the dough. Where cutting is begun the field should be 
finished by the time of the ripening of the remainder of 
the grain. A field that has reached the "dead ripe" stage 
will lose a great deal of grain in the handling. 

The feeding value of the straw depends, of course, upon 
the time it is cut. It is of little use for feeding if cut when 
the grain is ripe enough to shell easily. Wheat should be 
shocked in round shocks and well capped. There are ad- 
vantages in threshing it early and direct from the shock, 
as there are also in threshing from the stack. 



THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



Feeding. — Wheat from the stack is fed very little to 
stock except on those rare occasions when the price is so 
low that it can be profitably done, or when the grain is too 
much damaged for market. It is not as satisfactory for fat- 
tening purposes as corn, but is well fitted for young stock. 
When fed it should be mixed with oats or other grain. 
Pigs do well on wheat meal or upon wheat and eornmeal 
mixed. Sheaf wheat is sometimes thrown to hogs, but is 
a very wasteful method of feeding. Corn is always to be 
recommended in the place of wheat for stock, particularly 
as wheat forms a pasty mass in the mouth of the animal 
and causes indigestion. 

Enemies. — There is no treatment for rust other than 
rotation of crops and the burning over of affected areas. 

Two species of rust affect the wheat plant: Red or 
leaf rust comes first and attacks largely the leaves, and 
black or stem rust, a later species affects only the stems. 

Smuts also attacks wheat. Of these there are two 
species, viz., stinking smut or burnt, which affects only the 
seeds, and loose smut which 
consumes the entire spike. For 
the latter there is no treatment, 
but for the former see treat- 
ment for oat smut. The Hes- 
sian fly breeds particularly in 
wheat, though it is also found 
in barley and rye and is occa- 
sionally seen in timothy and 
other gresses. There are two 
broods of this fly — spring and 
fall broods, besides other smal- 
ler broods, particularly in 
southern wheat areas. Each 
generation is represented by 
four distinct stages, (1) egg; 
(2) maggot or larva; (3) pupa 
or flaxseed stage, and (4) ma- 
ture winged insect. The eggs, 
which are very small and pale 
red in color, are deposited in 
regular rows of three to five or 
more, on the upper surface of 
the leaf, a single female pro- 
ducing from one hundred to one 
hundred and fifty. The whitish maggots hatch in from threo 
to five days, imbedding themselves between the leaf sheath 
and the stem, causing a slight enlargement at that point- 




Head of bearded wheat 
attacked by smut. 



WHEAT. 



65 



The fall brood works on the young wheat near the surface 
of the ground, while the spring brood usually attacks the 
lower joint of the wheat, being left on the stubble when 
harvesting. Various methods for prevention of the Hessian 
fly have been recommended. Among these are burning over 
the infected areas after harvesting, late seeding and early 
sowing of a small tract to be later plowed vmder. These 
trap or decoy plantings furnish one of the best means of 
giving relief to late-planted wheat. Wheats having coarse, 
strong stems and varieties which tiller fully and develop 
numerous secondary shoots, such as the Underhill, Mediter- 
anean Red Cap, Red May, Clawson, and others, are able 
to resist the fly to same extent. 

The 3mall joint worm deposits its eggs on the wheat 
stems. It may be prevented by burning over the stubble. 

The frit fly much resembles the house fly. Destroying 
volunteer wheat and sowing wheat late are both recom- 
mended to deal with this pest. The sawfly lays eggs in May 
in a hollow stem, later hatching larva which cut through the 
stem joint with the exception of the ground joint, which 
they penetrate at harvest time. Rotation of crops alone is 
satisfactory to ward against the ravages of this insect. 

The midge deposits its eggs so that the maggots attack 
the wheat as soon as they are hatched. Burnmgthe stubble 
or crop rotation is recommended to combat this insect. 

Chinch Bug. — The chinch bug is the most important 
insect which injures growing wheat, the Hessian fly being 

second. It is widely distribut- 
ed, prevails more or less every 
year and multiplies enormously, 
attacking all the cereals and 
most forage plants. The losses 
have been estimated at about 
$100,000,000 for a single year. 
It is a native insect occurring 
from Nova Scotia and Manito- 
ba southward to the Gulf. The 
chief losses occasioned by it are 
in the Ohio and Upper Missis- 
sippi Valley and lake region, 
and to a less extent northeast- 
ward throughout the Allegheny 
region, New England and Nova 
Scotia. The Gulf states do not 
so often suffer serious injury 
except in the rice-growing regions. 




66 



THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



The chinch bug goes through six different stages, being of 
damage from the time of hatching until matured. In habits 
it associates itself in masses on the plants attacked, pre- 
ferably the lower parts. They are migratory in character, 
often when grain is cut, abandoning wheat fields and attack- 
ing any near-by corn or grass field. For the practical con- 
trol of the chinch bug the following suggestions have been 
made: (1) Burning over the grass lands together with 
removal of rubbish in fence corners. Cultivated meadows 
may be burned over when the ground is frozen without in- 
jury to the grass. (2) Trap crops may be planted such as 
patches of millet and Hungarian grass, which when infested 
in the spring should be turned under with the plow. (3) 




Chinch-bug ; a, 7>, eggs magnified and natural size ; c, young 
nymph ; e, second stage of nymph ; /, third stage ; g, full- 
grown nymph ; d, h, j, legs ; i, beak through which food 
is drawn. (Riley). 

Rotation of crops. (4) Plowing under the midsummer mi- 
grating bugs when attacking the first rows of corn. (5) 
Spraying the migrating bugs with a very strong oily insec- 
tide such as kerosene emulsion. (6) The making of pro- 
tective furrows as recommended for the army worm, killing 
the bugs by dragging a log along through the furrow or 
thoroughly wetting them with kerosene and water mixture. 

Army Worm. — The army worm appears in the month 
of May or June or later, when the wheat and other small 
grains and grasses, except clover, are suddenly overrun by 
a large number of striped caterpillers of this insect. These 
hordes usually travel in one direction, passing from one 
field ri another, destroying crops as they go. They also 
climb the stalks of such grasses as timothy and small grains, 
cutting off the stems just below the head. 

An adult insect is a yellowish brown moth with a white 
.spot on the center of each fore wing, laying eggs from two 



WHEAT. 



67 



to twenty in strings beneath the shreds of 
grass stems. These eggs hatch in from eight 
to ten days, the young catapillers having a 
ravenous appetite. 

The army worm occurs at very irregular in- 
tervals, making protective measures difficult. 
When a field is actually invaded nothing can be 
done to prevent loss. The field may be sprink- 
led by broadcast spreaders with an arsenical 
solution, or rolled, or pastured by a flock of 
sheep. This will not save the crop but will 
prevent the larva from reaching other fields. 
One of the best known methods is that of 
plowing a furrow with its perpendilular side 
toward the field to be protected and drawing a 
log through the furrow to kill the worms ac- 
cumulated in the ditch. 

Wire worms are often seen about the roots 
of wheat and other crops. Little can be done 
to prevent their depredations. Rotation of 
crops is recommended. 

Seed Bed Pointers. — Fall plow for spring 
wheat. Plow early for winter wheat and har- 
row to kill weeds and hold moisture. Disk or 
harrow. in spring before seeding. Have the bed 
firm and finely prepared. Old stubble should be 
turned or completely covered. 

Breeding Wheat'. — The abnormally low 
yields of wheat in all parts of the country can 
be materially increased by proper methods of 
selection, as well as by better methods of crop 
Larva of rotation and cultivation. The Minnesota Ex- 
the army periment Station has been a pioneer in field 
worm. cr0 p breeding, and has bred two new wheats 

which in that state have increased the yield 
8 and 18 per cent over the varieties of wheat* commonly 
grown by the farmer. By taking advantage of the in- 
dividuality of the plants and planting the seeds in such a 
manner that the conditions for each plant are exactly the 
same as those for each other plant, enables a breeder to se- 
lect the best-yielding ones, and having secured them, elimi- 
nate the poorer ones and give prominence to the inherited 
tendencies of the stronger, superior individuals. The farmer 
can accomplish much along the lines of breeding by saving 
only the best, largest and plumpest grain for seed. The 
fanning mill will do this work admirably. 



PART II. 
GARDEN CROPS. 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN: 

The site should be chosen with reference to the sun and 
wind, one that slopes gently to the south being preferred, 
and with an incline a little to the east if possible. A patch 
of woodland or high hill is a protection from the north 
wind and an advantage, as is a wall or hedge well placed 
as a windbreak. Woven wire fence is used for keeping out 
the chickens. 

Soil. — A light sandy loam is usually preferred, but 
vegetables may be grown satisfactorily with ordinary care 
on heavy dark soil or manured sticky red clays. A mellow 
rich soil which will hold moisture is easily recognized and 
should be chosen if available, but hardly any soil need be 
rejected until tried. 

Size. — A quarter of an acre is considered sufficient for 
a family of four. If potatoes, cabbage, corn and melons are 
to be grown this estimate is hardly sufficient, but if these 
vegetables are put in the field (as they should be) usually 
less than half an acre will be enough, giving room for early 
potatoes and sweet corn. 

Drainage. — Drainage must be thoroughly attended to 
before planting, surface drainage being secured frequently -by 
raising the beds above the level of the ground. Underground 
tile drainage is usually the most economical. 

Preparation of Soil. — The ground is made ready for 
planting by plowing, harrowing, rolling and fertilizing. 
Spading muy be done for a small garden or for special 
preparation for a limited space. The rake is usually em- 
ployed in finishing off the beds. The soil should be broken 
up fine as deep as the plant roots may be expected to go, 
often from 15 to 20 inches. 

Plowing. — The fall is the best time for plowing if the 
ground be hard or full of clods or clay. As a rule two 
plowings will be better than one and three better than 
two. Spring plowing should be done as soon as the deep 
freezing is over and the ground can be worked. If the soil 
makes a ball in the hand and sticks to it it is too wet; if 
(08) 



TIIE VEGETABLE GARDEN. 69 

it breaks bard it is too dry. For plowing it should crumble- 
easily and finely and leave very little dirt on the hands. 

Fertilizers. — There is no rule for the selection of fer- 
tilizers. It is very largely a matter of experience. Most 
soils are benefited by the addition of humus, a name applied 
to any thoroughly rotted vegetable or animal matter. The 
presence of humus may be determined by burning a small 
quantity of soil on a red hot shovel; if it gives an odor of 
feathers it contains humus from animal matter; if the odor 
of straw it contains humus from vegetable matter. Leaves,, 
garden refuse and barnyard manure made into a compost 
and allowed to decay make good humus. 

Seeds. — Seeds should be ready by the time the ground 
i9 prepared. It is important to have good seed and it is 
usually considered safe to send to some reputable dealer 
and depend upon him for quality. 

Planting from the Hotbed. — Many vegetables, as toma- 
toes, and cabbage, may be started in hotbeds and the plants 
reset, such plants can usually be purchased of seed dealers, 
and enough for a small family may be started in a good- 
sized box of earth in a south window. 

The hotbed and cold frame are easily made, all that is 
necessary being bottom heat, protection on all sides and a 
sash of glass as a cover. A pit is made for the hotbed 1 
to 3 feet deep, then an inch or two stuff on the bottom 
and on this 18 inche" to 3 feet of manure is placed; next 
comes a layer of leaf nould and on top 4 or 5 inches of 
garden loam. A hotbed with 2 feet of manure in may be 
expected to be good for G weeks. The frame faces the 
south and is 6 to 8 inches higher at the back than at the 
front. 

A cold frame is about the same as the top part of a hot- 
bed. No bottom hole is necessary and it is used for start- 
ing plants in early spring and receiving partially hardened 
plants which have been started earlier; it is also used for 
wintering young cabbages, lettuce and other plants. 

Planting. — The time for the first planting in any locality 
is known only by experience. The following natural si^ns 
may sometimes govern the time of planting the vegetables 
named: The bloom of the peach denotes planting time for 
peas, spinach and onions ; when the oak leaf breaks from 
its bud plant beets, turnips, corn and tomatoes; when the 
blackberries blossom, beans, cucumbers, cantaloupes, water- 
melons, squash and okra are to be planted. 

The garden should be planted so as to allow cultivation 



70 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

wherever possible by plowing. Wheel tools may be used 
where this cannot well be done. Hand weeding should be 
reduced to a minimum, the rows being made long and con- 
tinuous for this purpose. If one kind of vegetable to make a 
long row is not wanted, several kinds may be put in the 
same row. For marking the rows for planting various 
devices have been used. A roller made from a smooth 
hardwood log with heavy ropes fastened firmly about at 
distances corresponding to the intervals wished between the 
rows may be used as a marker. When the plants or seeds 
are to be put in at intervals the place may be marked by 
knots in the ropes. 

Soil. — The soil should be moist when seed i3 put in. 
If the planting is done just before a rain, it must be seen 
that packing of the soil over the seed does not prevent it 
from coming up. Most seeds are sown more thickly than 
the plants are desired, being thinned out as soon as the first 
true leaves appear, care being taken not to loosen the roots 
of the remaining plants. 

Depth of Planting. — The depth depends upon the size 
of the seeds, habits of germination, early growth, the soil 
and the season of planning. Small weak seeds should have 
much less cover than large vigorous ones, while certain 
seeds (as celery) must be lightly pressed into the soil and 
have a little sand or dust scattered over them. 

Transplanting. — Soon after the plants form the first 
true leaves they should be transplanted from the hotbed or 
cold frame. They should be closely pressed about the roots, 
and if the sun comes upon them they should be shaded 
with a screen of some kind. It is customary to clip back tiie 
leaves of young plants about half way from the point so 
as to give them better chance to root in the soil. 

Rotation should be practiced in the garden, being as iig?-. 
portant there as in the field. ;.' °. 

Cultivation. — The two principal reasons for cultJOT<JJ$Jty 
are: (1) to keep down the weeds and (2) to maintain injhe 
soil a supply of air and moisture necessary for tffe^^rTfi'Qne . 
of the best methods of preventing the effects oru^ofiMfW a 51 
mulcn — most frequently of the surface soil. ThW'g'ard&ie^ 8 ? 1 
aim in making a mulch is to save the moisttWe ^oniih^'Qfi 51 
from the lower earth and send it to his plants'. 111 d-jf.nroi ,<):•<{ 

Irrigation. — Irrigation should be practicecli W^e-re there , 
is a long spell of dry weather. The garden' pliouja' fee"' '0 
arranged that it can be reached with a hose or "V'"-shap , e J d 
trough. The best time for watering is in the spnh'gj fh' the 



ARTICHOKE. ASPARAGUS. BEAXS. 71 

middle of the day; in summer, evening, and in autumn, 
morning. 

ARTICHOKE: 

The Jerusalem artichoke, in a deep, favorable loam, well 
prepared, will produce at the rate of 300 to 600 bushels to 
the acre. Two or three tubers, if small, are planted in a hill. 
The hills are 3 feet apart each way. Cultivation is necessary 
if good results are desired, but the plant will produce with- 
out any care whatever. The tubers are ready for use early 
in October and may be dug at any time when the ground is 
not frozen until late i in March. Freezing does not affect 
them and they come to the table fresh from the earth in the 
early spring when other vegetables are likely to be stale and 
musty. They are boiled or steamed till soft and served 
with cream sauce; they are also used as salads or pickles. 
They have about the same food value as potatoes. A pint 
of tubers, cut to eyes as potatoes are, will plant 25 to 30 
hills. 

ASPARAGUS : 

This vegetable is one of the earliest to be ready for use. 
A fertile soil is best, but any good ground thoroughly pre- 
pared does well. Fine sandy soil makes the plants gritty. 
Sow early, in rows three feet apart; cover lightly. Thin 
when three or four inches high to one foot in the row if 
the soil is strong; farther apart on a sandy soil. Cultivate 
carefully, and supply a good dressing of well-rotted manure 
each spring. The plant should grow vigorously. It will be 
ready for use in the third year, and should be cut late in 
June. It should then be well worked and left to grow to 
gather strength for the next year's crop of shoots. When 
the tops begin to die they should be cut and burned. The 
asparagus on the market is usually white, except a small 
tip, and the white portion is stringy and inedible. This 
is the result of deep setting and cutting. If the seed is 
planted as here directed and the shoots cut a little below 
the surface when two to three inches high, a dish considered 
by many persons to be more satisfactory will be obtained. 
Two and one-half ounces of seed will sow 100 feet of row. 
A year may be gained by purchasing the young plants a 
year old and setting them out four inches deep. 

BEANS: 

The garden beans are very tender to frost. For this 
reason they should not be planted until the ground has 



72 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

become warmed. If the seed is sown too early it decays 
quite readily. 

In culture, beans are divided into two types: Pole 
beans — climbing varieties which require support — and the 
dwarf, compact-growing sorts, known as Bush beans. 

Pole Beans.— The Climbing Lima bean belongs to this 
type, and is a kind of high flavor, much prized in the South 
and East. It is more tender than the bush beans, however, 
and for this reason is not so successful in the Northwest. 
In that section the Dwarf Limas are more satisfactory. In 
planting pole beans it is best to place the poles before plant- 
ing, in rows three feet each way. If the soil is thin it is 
a good practice to apply a shovelful of well-decayed manure 
under each hill. To insure a good stand, 6 to 8 seeds should 
be sown to each pole. Wire netting is a convenient support 
and in many sections is preferable to poles. 

Bush Beans. — Bush beans require a very much shorter 
growing season, and by successional sowings may be had 
for table supply throughout the summer. The last planting 
should be made at least seven or eight weeks before heavy 
frost. 

To secure good snap or string beans a rapid growth is 
necessary. Otherwise the pods become stringy. It is also 
necessary to keep all pods picked, allowing none to mature, 
for the ripening seeds will check the growth of the plant 
and destroy the future supply of green pods. 

When grown as a field crop for market the plants are 
pulled by hand and piled with the roots upward, or harvested 
with a bean puller. If not allowed to stand until the pods 
shell too much they may be mowed and raked up as hay. 
For small quantities, a hand flail and fanning mill may be 
used for threshing and cleaning. By large growers, a regular 
bean thresher is employed. 

BEETS: 

Loose, rich soil with considerable sand is desirable, but 
beets will grow well in any except a hard, heavy clay. The 
seed should be planted about an inch deep in drills 3% feet 
apart. The sowing may be quite early, as the plants will 
stand a light frost. When growth has fairly begun thin to 
6 or 8 inches in the row. The plants removed may be used 
as greens. Turnip or globe-shaped are liked best for sum- 
mer use: the long varieties for winter keeping. Leaf blight 
is occasionally troublesome in beets and may be met by 
spraying with Bordeaux mixture. 



BEETS. CELERY. 73 

Winter beets are sown in July and August, and after 
frost are taken up, the tops cut off, and the roots stored in 
the cellar. One ounce of seed will sow 60 to 70 feet of drill. 
Early varieties may be used in 50 to 60 days; the roots will 
be mature in 150 days. 

BROCCOLI: 

A kind of cauliflower, maturing late and little grown in 
this country. See Cauliflower for cultivation. 

BRUSSELS SPROUTS: 

This is a member of the cabbage family with small, 
lateral buds which are used similarly to cabbage. Its cul- 
ture is practically the same as that of cabbage. 

CARROTS : 

Sow early in loose, rich soil, in rows 3 feet apart, for 
horse cultivator or 1 foot for the hoe. The seed is small and 
slow to start. It should be covered lightly and pressed 
down firmly. If radish seed be sown in the same row they 
will break the surface and mark the rows so that relief may 
be given if the ground should bake. Thin to 4 inches apart 
in the row. Carrots are considered best when young and 
tender, and successive growings will be necessary to supply 
them in that condition. One ounce will plant 150 feet of 
row. Carrots may be used in 70 to 120 days, varying with 
variety, management, etc. 

CAULIFLOWER: 

This vegetable deserves more general cultivation in the 
farm garden. It can be grown with about the same soil, 
planting and care as cabbage but the supply of moisture 
must be maintained more carefully. The plants do not 
stand very hot weather. When the plants begin to head 
the loose leaves should be bent over to whiten the center. 
One ounce of seed will give 1,000 to 2,000 plants. 

CELERY: 

A hardy, edible plant grown throughout the United 
States for its stalks, which, when blanched, are eaten as 
a relish. Besides the common method of eating raw it is 
used as the base for soups and as a seasoning for various 
dishes. 

Culture.— A rich, black, loose, deep soil is the best for 
this plant. High land of this quality produces the best 



74 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

quality of celery, but it is most grown on low lands, well 
drained, such as swamp lands that have been reclaimed. 

Early Celery. — Early celery is not much cultivated as 
the later or fall crop furnishes the bulk of celery grown. 
In the North, to secure the early crop the seed is sown Feb- 
ruary or March and given careful cultivation. The seed is 
very fine, one ounce producing upwards of 4,000 plants. 
Seed is sown in shallow loam-boxes, these to be kept in a 
warm place, as in a hothouse, being broadcasted and covered 
with a thin layer of sand. 

Celery seed sprouts slowly, taking from 10 to 15 days, 
and should be in a moist soil to insure germination. When 
the plants are large enough to bear transplanting they are 
first removed to another bed, giving them larger space, after- 
wards being transplanted into rows four inches apart, the 
plants two inches apart in the rows, later to be given their 
final transplanting to the field. They are handled at this 
stage much the same as cabbage plants. Field rows of 
celery are commonly four feet apart, the plants being sepa- 
rated from 6 to 8 inches in the row. In order to make the 
growth as stocky as possible the plants are pinched or cut 
back when removed to the field: Shallow cultivation is best 
for the plants, and early celery should always be blanched 
by means of tile, paper or boards instead of earth which 
will cause the stalks to rot. 

"Self-blanching" celery matures better and produces the 
best results for early planting. 

New Celery Culture. — By growing self-blanching varieties- 
close together the stalks exclude the light from each other, 
and the common method of blanching are not necessary. 
Very much more fertilizer and water is required for this 
culture. 

Fertilizers. — The ground can hardly be made too rich 
for celery. Unleached wood ashes and well-rotted barnyard 
manure furnish the best fertilizing elements. 

CHARD : 

A modification of the garden beet in which the midrib 
is used, cooked in place of the root. Cultivation is the 
same as for beets. 

COLLARD: 

A kind of cabbage, which, however, does not head but 
forms a branching top. Cultivation the same as for cab- 
bage. 



CRESSES. DANDELION. 75 

CRESSES: 

Water cress is a kind of nasturtium used for garnish- 
ing and salads. It is a hardy, moisture-loving plant and 
readily establishes itself along streams after the bed has 
been prepared and the seed sown. There is little variation 
in varieties of cress. 

Garden cress is a partial-season crop which is used to 
a limited extent for garnishing. The crop is hardy and 
should be sown quite early. Plants mature in from six to 
eight weeks. 

CUCUMBERS: 

A warm, light sandy soil well supplied with humus is 
recommended, while a hard, cold clay and any poor soil are 
unsuitable. Hills a foot deep and 4 to 5 feet wide should 
be prepared by thoroughly pulverizing the ground and mix- 
ing into it a liberal supply of stable manure and fertilizer. 
The only thing to be guarded against in fertilizing is the 
production of an excess of vine, with corresponding lack of 
fruit. This condition calls for pinching off the terminal 
buds. The hills should ue 6 to 8 feet apart. Seed should 
be planted germ end down an inch and a half deep late in 
April. Weeds must be kept down carefully while the plants 
are young. When the vines cover the ground it is difficult 
to do anything with the weeds, because every movement 
is likely to injure the cucumbers. Many successful growers 
use trellises or frames. 

It is best to start the cucumbers in the hotbed or in 
the house early in March. Sow on upturned pieces of sod 
6 inches square and cover with an inch of light, rich soil. 
Transfer to the open ground early in May. Successional 
sowing should begin about the middle of May. One or two 
ounces of seed will plant 100 hills. Ready for use in 50 
to 75 days. 

CITRON: 

Citron is a fruit very similar to the watermelon in ap- 
pearance and culture, but bearing a thick, hard, fleshy rind, 
which is used for preserving. 

DANDELION : 

This common weed is raised commercially near large 
cities of the east for greens. Seed is sown in early spring 
in rows 1 foot apart, plants later thinned to 1 foot apart in 
the row. It is marketed like spinach after being partially 
blanched in the field. 



7G THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

EGGPLANT: 

The egg plant, like the tomato, should be started within 
doors. It is even more tender than the former plant, how- 
ever, and should not be planted out until the weather be- 
comes settled and warm. Well-drained soil is important, and 
without this or in cool seasons the crop is likely to be a 
failure. The plants are usually set two feet apart in the 
low. 

Varieties. — Black Pekin and New York Improved. 
There are also small scarlet and white varieties, the fruit of 
which is used for decorative purposes and is of little value 
as a vegetable. 

ENDIVE: 

A garden plant used for greens or for salad. Cultivation 
is the same as for lettuce. It may be, however, necessary 
to blanch it like celery. Smooth-leaved endive is large and 
«oarse. The curled varieties, especially those having leaves 
naturally white, are considered the best for eating. 

GARLIC : 

A bulbous plant closely resembling the onion. Propaga- 
tion is effected by "cloves" which resemble onion sets. Cul- 
ture is the same as that of the onion. 

GINSENG: 

A plant growing wild in the woods of the east central 
states, the roots being used by the Chinese as a medicine. 
In order to grow this plant it is necessary that it have 
plenty of shade. 

Seed must be treated the same as nuts used for plant- 
ing, being placed in moist soil in the fall. If put in boxes 
of moist sand and buried in the ground over winter and 
summer, the seed will be ready for planting the following 
fall. Planting should take place in the woods or in ground 
given artificial shade. Rows should be 1 foot apart, plants 
■6 to 8 inches apart in the row, the seed being put in 
about an inch in depth. This is one of the few crops re- 
quiring no cultivation. Weeds, however, should be re- 
moved. 

Roots should be gathered when about six years old. 
The average price for roots is about $5 a pound. 

GROUND CHERRY: 

This plant, also known as strawberry or winter cherry, 



GROUND CHERRY. LETTUCE. 77 

grows wild, in the cornfields of the Mississippi Valley. Its 
fruit is used for preserves for the table. A good soil well 
worked improves the quantity and quality of its produc- 
tion. It may be planted early in drills 3 feet apart, with 
12 to 18 inches between the plants in the drill. It is recoc- 
mended as very productive and as keeping through the 
winter in the husk. 

HORSE-RADISH: 

Horse-radish is a hardy perennial of the simplest cul- 
ture. A rich, deep soil furnishes the best conditions for the 
development of symmetrical roots. Propagation is by root 
cuttings, which should be one-half to three-fourths inch 
in diameter and 4 to 6 inches in length. To insure plant- 
ing them with the crown end up it is well to make the 
upper cut sloping. The roots are used as a condiment 
with meats in late fall and early spring. A winter supply 
may be had by storing roots in moist soil or sand in the 
cellar. 

KALE: 

A cabbage-like vegetable used as greens. It requires 
the same soil as cabbage, and substantially same cultiva- 
tion. 

KOHLRABI: 

This is another member of the cabbage family, with an 
•enlarged, turnip-shaped stem, grown considerably as a win- 
ter food for stock and in a limited way as a garden vege- 
table. The tubers should be used when 2 or 3 inches in 
-diameter, as they become tough and woody when older. 
White Vienna is one of the best known varieties. 

LEEKS : 

These are a species of onion producing a straight stem. 
The stems are mild in flavor and are highly prized for 
winter soups. 

Culture. — The culture is similar to that of the onion. 
The leek requires the entire season for growth and is stored 
in the green state, as in the ease of celery. 

LETTUCE: 

This plant is the most generally used in this country 
for salads. A warm mellow soil is required, with plenty 
of water and thorough weeding. Sow as soon as danger 
of severe frost is past. The seeds are very small and may 



78 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

be mixed with sand for sowing. They should be covered 
very lightly. In the Southern states it is usual to sow 
the seed broadcast and cover by drawing the fingers lightly 
through the soil, or to rake in with a light branch of a 
tree. The ordinary rake will cover too deeply. One kind, 
the cabbage lettuces, form heads naturally; the other, the 
Cos lettuces, do not head, but may be blanched by tying up 
the leaves. Lettuce may be used in 3 to 4 weeks from 
planting. One-quarter of an ounce of seed will sow 100 
feet of drill. 

MARTYNIA : 

A rich warm soil is needed. Plant when frost is gone 
for the year in hills 3 feet apart each way. The seed is 
slow to come up. One good plant to the hill is enough. 
The seed pods will be ready for picking in 60 or 80 days 
and are put up in the same way as cucumbers. Half an 
ounce of seed will plant 100 hills. 

MELONS: 

Both muskmelons (cantaloupes) and watermelons need 
a warm, rich soil ; but care must be observed not to grow 
the vines at the expense of fruit by improper use of fer- 
tilizing materials. Melons grow readily in a fertile sandy 
loam. The management is about the same as for the cucum- 
ber, but more light, heat and air are needed. The vines 
may be pinched back if they tend to run excessively. Musk- 
melons need 2 ounces of seed to the 100 hills; watermelon, 
4 ounces. Muskmelons ripen in about 100 days from sow- 
ing the seed, watermelons in 120 to 140 days. 

MINT: 

Spearmint used for garnishing liquors and in the prep- 
aration of sauces is grown (almost without cultivation) 
sparingly throughout the United States in gardens. It is 
grown in New York, Michigan and a few other states 
for oil. 

Propagated by root-stocks put in about corn-planting 
time, it is cultivated like listed corn and cut with a scythe 
or mower. It is then cured like hay and the oil extracted 
by distillation. 

MUSHROOM: 

A species of fungi extensively cultivated in the vicinity 
of cities for food, and growing wild in the woods and 
meadows. The edible mushroom is found in old meadows 



MUSHROOM. PARSNIPS. 79 

in the spring and fall and is distinguished from other species 
By having pink-colored gills. A large part — often as high 
as 90 per cent — of mushrooms is water, and only a small 
part of the dry matter is digestible, being inferior in food 
value to potatoes. 

MUSTARD: 

A garden plant grown for greens and seed and often 
becoming a pest in field crops, particularly flax. 

Cultivation. — About 8 quarts of seed are broadcasted 
to the acre, the crop being cut when the pods iurn yellow, 
when it is threshed. 

For garden use it is sown same as the radish, and given 
the same cultivation. 

OKRA: 

A deep, rich soil well prepared is to be desired for 
okra, but it makes a thrifty growth and will do well with 
very little care after it has a good start, unless the season 
is very wet and cool. The seed does not come up with much 
certainty, and two or three plantings may be necessary. 
Seed should usually be procured fresh from a dealer every 
year, but with intelligent handling it may be saved from 
the pod. Okra should be planted as soon as frost is gone, 
in drills 2% to 3 feet apart and covered an inch deep. 
Thin to 12 or IS inches as soon as the plants begin to grow 
well. 

The pods are cut 3 to 5 days after the flowers fall, and 
are usually boiled alone or in soup with other vegetables. 
One and a half ounces of seed will plant 100 hills. Use of 
the pods may begin in 90 to 100 days from planting. 

PARSLEY: 

This is a biennial. Deep rich soil made very fine and 
mellow is best. Sow early in the spring in drills half an 
inch deep and a foot apart. Thin to 6 inches in tbe row, 
when the second pair of leaves appear. If wanted in early 
spring parsley may be sowed in September in a moder- 
ately fertile soil. During the cold weather the plants 
should be covered nearly to the top> with leaves, held in 
place by brush. One-fourth of an ounce of seed will sow 
100 feet of drill. 

PARSNIPS: 

This vegetable is grown precisely as the carrot. It may 



80 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

■ be left in the ground all winter and dug as wanted. It 
is considered sweeter and better when managed in that 
way. One-fourth of an ounce of seed will sow 100 feet of 
drill. The roots are ready for use in 140 days from 
planting. 

PEANUT: 

A trailing, straggling annual growing from one to two- 
feet high, with thick angular pale green hairy stems and 
spreading branches, having a habit of maturing its fruit 
under ground. Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee 
produce a large part of the peanut crop. 

PEAS: 

Frost is not so fatal to peas as to beans and the sowing 
may therefore be earlier. The soil, planting, and cultivation 
a^e practically the same as for beans, but peas require a 
better soil and more attention. Some of the best peas 
grow tall and require sticks or wire to hold them off the 
ground. The half dwarf kind may be planted in close 
rows so that they will support each other. The seed does 
not come up with quite so much certainty as beans and the 
plant seems to suffer more by accidents and disease. Mil- 
dew is probably the worst enemy and is treated with Bor- 
deaux mixture. Weevil in the seed may be killed by soak- 
ing for an hour in a solution of an ounce of copper car- 
bonate and a little less than a pint of ammonia to 1*4 
gallons of water. If peas are wanted for several weeks 
successive sowings must be made or varieties judiciously 
chosen. 

Two distinct kinds of peas are known, smooth-seeded 
and wrinkled-seeded. The latter are earlier and last longer ; 
the former sometimes have edible pods and are known as 
sugar peas. One pint of seed will plant 100 feet of drill. 
Ready for use in fifty to ninety days, according to variety. 

PEPPERS: 

The plants may be started in the hotbed or sown directly 
out-of-doors after the weather becomes warm, and thinned 
to 12 inches apart. A variety collection of peppers shows 
a most interesting variation in size, shape, and color. The 
seedsmen's general list of standard varieties is quite suc- 
cessful. 

PUMPKINS: 

The pumpkin is a valuable fall and early winter feed 



PUMPKINS. RUTABAGAS. 81 

for cattle, sheep, and swine, serving as a vermifuge. It 
also is used in cooking. 

Pumpkins may be grown with the corn crop, producing, 
where the stand is not perfect or where the corn does not 
grow large, a considerable amount of feed without affect- 
ing the yield of corn. If grown as a separate crop, the 
ground should be prepared the same as for corn. Plant 
about the same time in hills 8 to 12 feet apart each way, 
putting six to eight seeds in a hill. When the plants are 
well started, thin to three plants in a hill. Give thor- 
ough cultivation. Harvest before freezing weather and 
store in a cool dry place. 

RADISHES: 

Among the first vegetables usually sown are radishes. 
They require little space and can be grown indoors. A 
loose, rich, deep soil, better if sandy, is required. The 
radish should grow very rapidly and be eaten while very 
young. The seed is sown in rows 12 to 14 inches apart 
and the plants thinned to about 3 inches in the rows. The 
seed should be covered about an inch deep. Radishes are 
sometimes sown broadcast and raked in lightly. Grubs 
in some cases destroy the roots. The only escape is to plant 
in soil where the grubs have not found lodgment. Fre- 
quent sowings will be made by those who enjoy fresh, 
crisp radishes. An ounce of seed will sow 100 feet of 
drill. Ready for use in 20 to 45 days, according to kind. 

RHUBARB : 

The soil should be worked deeply, but the plant will 
grow with ordinary care upon any good ground. An open 
position, sheltered from east winds, is desirable. Rhubarb 
may be grown oy sowing the seed in the spring, but it is 
better to use the divided roots of old plants. They should 
be set 2 to 3 feet apart and may occupy an otherwise un- 
used corner. Once set, it will produce for several years 
with very little attention. Use begins the second season 
and must be discontinued in the summer in time to allow 
the plants to recuperate for the next year. An ounce of 
seed will sow 125 feet of drill. 

RUTABAGAS OR SWEDISH TURNIPS: 

The rutabaga is identical with the turnip in its culture, 
with the exception that it requires a longer season for 
growth, and for the winter crop should be sown four or 
five weeks earlier. 



82 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

SALSIFY: 

The planting and cultivation are the same as for the 
carrots, except that a little more space between the plants 
in the drill will be an advantage. Salsify may be left out 
all winter if freezing is not very severe, but it is con- 
sidered better to pull and store. 

One ounce of seed will sow 100 feet of drill. Ready 
for use in 130 to 140 days. 

SQUASH: 

A warm, light, rich soil, deeply worked, is best. Plenty 
of stable manure will be repaid by increased yield. Plant 
summer varieties in slightly elevated hills, 4 feet apart 
each way, as soon as the ground is warm. Cover seed 1 
to 3 inches deep. Late varieties should be planted in hills 
6 to 8 feet each way, leaving four plants to a hill. Another 
way is to plant in rows 12 to 20 feet apart and then to C 
feet between the hills in a row. Early beans or peas may 
be cultivated between the rows, to be cleared away in July. 
Weeds must be kept down and moisture held in cultivation. 
The hand hoe must be used after the vines begin to run. 
Seed from the home garden is likely to be crossed with 
cucumbers or melons and the product is unsatisfactory. 
One ounce of seed for summer and two ounces for the winter 
will plant 25 hills. The summer squash may be used in 
50 days; winter squash will be ripe in 115 to 125 days. 

TOMATO : 

A clayey soil is liked by some, sandy by others. Deep 
preparation and plenty of manure will make good tomatoes 
on almost any soil. Too much manure on a light soil 
may cause the plant to run to vine. Sow the seed in hot- 
beds, or shallow boxes to be kept in the house, about the 
end of March, and set the plants when 2 inches high 3 feet 
apart in rows 3% feet apart. They should not be set out 
till the temperature is likely to stay above 60 deg. This 
will usually be when oak leaves are well out of the bud. 

Thorough cultivation, loosening the soil and killing the 
weeds, is necessary till the plants begin to spread and cover 
the ground. The soil should be drawn up to the plants in 
hills 2 or 3 inches high. Some support, as a trellis, is nec- 
essary to keep the fruit off the ground. 

The fruit will begin to ripen in August, and should 
be picked as fast as ripe. The plant will usually continue 
bearing till frost, and if the full-sized green tomatoes are 



TOMATO. BEEF. 83 

then placed under a cold frame or on the cellar floor they 
will usually ripen. One ounce of seed will produce 3,500 
to 4,500 plants. 

TURNIPS: 

Rich finely pulverized soil is needed. A sandy or 
gravelly loam is preferred. The seed may be sown quite 
early, as the plants are not easily hurt by frost. Sow in 
drills 1 foot apart and half an inch deep or sow broadcast 
and rake in lightly. If there should be no rain a thorough 
sprinkling will insure germination. The plants should 
stand at least 3 inches apart. Repeated sowings are nec- 
essary for a satisfactory succession in summer. White 
varieties are preferred for summer use. 

For winter, sow late in July. A yellow kind is much 
liked. No cultivation is required when sown broadcast. 
Turnips may be stored the same as potatoes. The tops 
should be cut away. If covered with sand they will not 
wither, but may start to grow if the cellar is warm and 
will become pithy. Turnips mature in about two months. 
One ounce of seed is enough for 200 feet of drill. 



PART III. 
LIVE STOCK AND DAIRYING. 



BEEF: 

The corn-belt is peculiarly adapted to the business of 
raising the best quality of beef. Modern economical methods 
produce beeves of 1400 to 1600 pounds weight at 1 year 8 
months to 2 years 6 months of age. Cattle have been pro- 
duced in carload lots weighing 1700 pounds when only 2 
years and 7 months old. Lighter weight "baby beef" is made 
more economically in many instances. 

The basis of this method of feeding is to supply the steer 
liberally and constantly with the right kind of feed during 
the first 2 years of his life. They should run with their 
dams until weaned, being taught to eat about five weeks 
before weaning, and given a little cornmeal and ground 
oats mixed; for the next 6 or 7 months they should have 
a mixed ration of corn, oats ground or whole, oilmeal and 
wheat bran; not all of these feeds at one time, but 2 or 3 



84 



TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



varieties at each feed, and corn should be made the principal 
feed, about four-fifths of all concentrated feeds. 

Steers should have all the feed they can clean up and. 
digest well. A peck of sound dry corn or a little more, with 
2 or 3 pounds of old process oilmeal or the same quantity 
of gluten meal, together with a pint or so of wheat bran, 
with suitable roughage, makes a large enough ration for a. 
two-year-old steer. 




&&$$ 



Diagram of cuts of beef : 1, neck ; 2, chuck : 3, ribs ; 4, shoulder 
clod ; 5, fore shank ; 6, brisket ; 7, cross ribs ; 8, plate. ;. 
9, navel ; 10, loin ; 11, flank ; 12, rump ; 13, round ; 14, 
second cut round ; 15, hind shank. 

It is important when full-feeding stock that they con- 
sume a proper amount of roughage. The scheme has been 
tried of baiting the troughs with mixed clover and timothy 
or shredded fodder and distributing the concentrated feeds 
through this in such a way that the steers are obliged to 
eat one to get the other. 

Feeding Range Cattle. — In buying range stockers, good 
grades are desired, in fair condition not less than 3 years 
old ; they should weigh 1000 pounds or over. Between 
August and October they should go on full feed as quickly 
as possible, being fed husked corn from behind shredded fod- 
der stacks during the winter. 

Timothy and clover mixed are the old standbys for cat- 
tle; they can be run on it the year round. In order to' 
make a satisfactory profit in feeding range cattle there- 



BEEF. CATTLE. 85 

should be a daily gain of from 2 to 2y 2 pounds. With 
average conditions, that is, with corn at 35 cents and hay at 
$8.50 and a proportionate price for other feeding stuffs, 
$1.50 margin over cost price makes a satisfactory profit. 

CATTLE: 

Each of the various recognized breeds of domestic cattle 
may be placed in one of two general classes: beef cattle or 




Diagram of cats of beef. For numbers refer to preceding 
engraving. 

dairy cattle, though some breeds are termed general or dual- 
purpose. 

Ayrshires. — Ayrshires are medium-sized dairy cattle. 
The bulls attain a weight of 1,400 to 1,800 pounds at 



86 



THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



maturity, sometimes being larger. The cows average prob- 
ably 1,000 pounds in a well-maintained herd. They are 
short-legged, fine-boned, and very active. The Ayrshire 
cow is a large and persistent milker. A yield of 5,500 
pounds a year, as an average for a working herd in good 
hands, is depended upon and often realized. The milk is 
not exceptionally rich, but somewhat above the average. 
Herd records show 3% to 4 per cent of butter-fat through- 
out the year. The breed is fairly well distributed in the 
north and east. 

The Brown Swiss. — Commonly styled a dual-purpose 
breed. The udder and teats are large, well-formed and 
white, with milk veins very prominent. Mature animals 
weigh from 1,200 to 1,400 pounds and often more; bulls 
run up to 1,800 pounds and over. 




Diagram showing comparative values of cuts of beef. 

Brown Swiss cows yield a generous flow of milk and 
hold out well. Good specimens may be ' expected to give 
6,000 pounds a year and instances are known of 8,000 to 
10,000 pounds. These cattle are good for beef as well as 
for the dairy. They are almost always full-fleshed, easily 
kept so, and readily fattened when not in milk. They have 
horns, are widely distributed and are growing in popular 
esteem. 

Devons. — A horned breed, red in color, good milkers, 
of medium size, being about equal to the Ayrshires in gen- 
eral average. They have shown remarkable adaptability 
to varied conditions of topography and climate. They do 
well in most hilly and rigorous parts of New England and 
have proved well suited to the old field and pine lands of 
the Gulf states. Devons do not yield large quantities of 



CATTLE. 



87 



milk and are not persistent milkers; yet some families, 
bred and selected for dairy purposes, have made fair milk 
records. There are but few herds in the United States. 

Dutch Belted. — Jet black in color with a broad band or 
belt of pure white encircling the body at the heart girth. 
The cattle are of the dairy type, although not to such a 
degree as some others. In size they rank with the Ayr- 
shire. This breed is not numerous either in Europe or 
America. The claim of a leading breeder is that they are 
"deep milkers, practical, profitable, thrifty and picturesque 
in the extreme when seen as a herd in pasture." 

Guernseys. — Guernseys are a size larger than the Jer- 
seys, stronger-boned, and a little coarser in appearance. 
They are by some claimed to be hardier and larger milkers. 
Altogether they are at once recognized as belonging to the 
pronounced dairy type. They are light in color, the horns 
small, curved, fine, thin-shelled, and waxy in appearance. 




Diagram showing cuts of veal. 



The butter is perhaps of a higher color at all seasons 
of the year than that of any other breed. The cows pro- 
duce liberal quantities of milk, and it is of uncommon 
richness in butter-fat and in natural color. They are 
especially recommended for butter cows. Guernsey cows 
average 1,000 pounds in weight, or a little more. 

Holstein-Friesians. — The striking features in appear- 
ance are the color markings of black and white and the 
large size of the animals. The average animal carries 
rather more black than white, and the distribution and 
outlines of the markings are extremely irregular. 

In size they are the largest of all the dairy breeds. 
The cows range in weight from 1,100 and 1,400 with an 
average of about 1,250 pounds. The bulls at maturity 
are very large and heavy, often above 2,500 pounds in 
weight. Animals of both sexes can be turned into very 
good beasts for slaughter at alnw*t any age. 

Jerseys. — The smallest in size ©f the dairy breeds, cowa 



88 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

ranging from 700 to 1,000 pounds, and the bulls from 1,200 
to 1,800 pounds. The average weight in America is con- 
siderably more than the average on their native land. In 
color they are of various shades of yellow, fawn and tan 
to a creamy white; also mouse color or squirrel gray, 
some light red and a few brindle. 

Jerseys are usually of the typical dairy form. For 
years they have been bred especially and almost exclusively 
for butter, but in America breeders have striven with suc- 
cess to increase the milk yield, while maintaining its high 
quality. Two, three and four gallons per day are common 
yields. Single animals are on record as producing 9,000, 
10,000 and 12,000 pounds of milk in a year. From 4 to 5 
per cent of fat is usual. Jersey butter records are cor- 
respondingly large. Good herds are depended upon to pro- 
duce 350 to 400 pounds of butter for every milking animal 
fed the full year. The Jersey is essentially a machine for 
producing milk — butter-making milk — and may be con- 
sidered wortnless when she ceases to give milk. The owner 
should depend for profit solely upon the produce of the 
cow while she is alive. The breed is strongly established 
in this country. 

Red Polls. — Somewhat larger than the Devons, and, 
being of the same color and between the dairy and beef 
form, the resemblance is still greater. They are harmless, 
as their name indicates, have strong constitutions, are 
hardy and good grazers, active in movement, and quiet 
in disposition. Their friends press their merits strongly 
as a general-purpose breed or "farmer's cow." 

Single selected cows give 30 to 40 and sometimes 50 
pounds of milk a day, and hold out well, making yearly 
totals of 6,000 to 8,00 pounds or more. The tendency in 
this country among some breeders is to add to the size 
of the animals and improve the beef- producing capacity 
at the expense of dairy qualities. 

Short-Horns. — In size the Short-Horns are probably the 
largest of the beef breeds. Bulls ordinarily weigh a ton 
or more, sometimes running up to 3,000 pounds ; mature 
cows range from 1,200 to 1,800 pounds. The type is blocky, 
low-set, deep and thick. In the best mhidng strains the 
cows are rather more rangy and angular in outline, with 
large, hairy udders and good-sized straight teats, well 
placed. Records of several dairy herds in the United States 
within a quarter century shows a milking season of 
about 275 days and an average product of 6,500 
pounds of milk. Single cows have averaged much more, 



CATTLE. 89 

several instances being known of 10,000 to 12,000 pounds 
in a season. The color varies. It may be red, white or 
roan or a mixture of these. In numbers and extent of 
territory covered the Short-Horn excels any other beef 
breed. 

Herefords. — Red with white face, white underline and 
over withers; specially adapted to the range or grass 
country; quick-maturing, hardy and excellent feeders; 
widely distributed. In size and type the Hereford is similar 
to the Short-horn, though in milking qualities the latter 
excels it. The breed is confined largely to the southwest, 
though its representatives abound in almost all the states. 

Aberdeen-Angus. — A black polled breed which is grow- 
ing rapidly in favor in the corn- belt to which it seema 
particularly well adapted. In feed-lots Angus steers are 
probably without an equal in their ability to make quick 
gains and a superior quality of beef. In size they are 
much the same as the other beef types, though as a rule 
more uniform and smoother. They do not produce suffi- 
cient milk as a rule for their own calves, especially where 
the herds have been highly specialized for beef production. 

Polled Durhams. — Hornless Short-Horns, having all the 
characteristics of the latter breed save horns. They have 
become well established in America, where they originated, 
and are a popular general-purpose breed. 

Galloways. — A black polled beef breed introduced from 
Scotland, very hardy and rugged, specially adapted to cold 
climes and grazing. Their coats are very rich, making 
valuable robes. Marked improvement has been made in 
the breed as beef cattle. They are not so large as some 
of the other beef breeds, and probably do not feed out so 
well. 

HOW TO TELL A GOOD COW FOR DAIRY: 

Head small and clean-cut; muzzle large; forehead 
straight or concave; neck long and thin without being 
scrawny; horns somewhat small; eyes bright and prominent ; 
shoulders thin, loin broad but not thickly fleshed as in beef 
cattle; thighs thin; hind quarters long, deep, and powerful; 
flank high; legs short and wide apart; tail long, slim, 
and loosely jointed; frame markedly wedge shaped; taper- 
ing from rump to shoulder; udder set broadly on abdomen, 
of generous size, extending high up behind, well held up to 
abdomen, not loose, pendulous or fleshy; milk veins large 
and prominent, on both udder belly; teats medium size, 



90 



TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



evenly placed, and wide apart. A fleshy udder, firm to 
touch when empty, and retaining its size and form after 
milking, indicates predisposition to inflammatory disease. 
Skin clean, with a fresh bright color; hair fine, thick, and 
soft; temperament active and docile; large feeder. 

The main points in the selection of a cow are to secure 
large udders that are not fleshy, and large roomy bellies, 
showing capacity for consumption of large quantities of 
food. These are not always profitable cows, but they gen- 
erally are. Cows are seldom profitable unless they produce 
at least 250 pounds, or more, of butter per year. 




Names and location of points in external formation of the cow. 
1, muzzle ; 2, face ; 3, forehead ; 4, poll ; 5, lower jaw ; 
6, cheek ; 7, neck ; 8, back ; 9, loin ; 10, hip or hook ; 11, 
rump ; 12, pelvic arch ; 13, switch ; 14, thigh ; 15, flank ; 
16, udder; 17, barrel or belly; 18, fore flank; 19, brisket; 
20, dewlap; 21, heart girth; 22, loin girth. (Mumford.) 



DAIRYING: 

The main thing to be worked for in dairying is the pay- 
ing production of milk. To find which cows pay and which 
do not tests should be made. The old way was to set the 
milk in long test tubes cooled under the same conditions 
as the rest of the milk, but now what is known as the 
Babcock test is made. A sample of the milk to be tested 
i9 mixed with sulphuric acid in a Babcock test bottle 
and whirled in the testing machine, the fat rising to the 
top, where its height may be measured. 

The "Fifty Dairy Rule9 of the United States Department 



DAIRYING. 01 

of Agriculture" sum up in a most concise manner the moat 
important facts of dairying. They are as follows: 

The Owner and His Helpers. — 1. Read current daily 
literature and keep posted on new ideas. 2. Observe and 
enforce the utmost cleanliness about the cattle, their at- 
tendants, the stable, the dairy, and all utensils. 3. A per- 
son suffering from any disease, or who has been exposed to 
a contagious disease, must remain away from the cows and 
the milk. 

The Stable. — 4. Keep dairy cattle in a room or build- 
ing by themselves. It is preferable to have no cellar below 
and no storage loft above. 5. Stables should be well venti- 
lated, lighted, and drained; should have tight floors and 
walls and be plainly constructed. 6. Never use musty or 
dirty litter. 7. Allow no strong smelling material in the 
stable for any length of time. Store the manure under cover 
outside the cow stable and remove it to a distance as often 
as practicable. 8. Whitewash the stable once or twice a 
year; use land plaster in the manure gutters daily. 9. Use 
no dry, dusty feed just previous to milking; if fodder is 
dusty, sprinkle it before it is fed. 10. Clean and thoroughly 
air the stable before milking; in hot weather sprinkle the 
floor. 11. Keep the stable and dairy room in good condi- 
tion, and then insist that the dairy, factory, or place where 
the milk goes be kept equally well. 

The Cows. — 12. Have the herd examined at least twice 
a year by a skilled veterinarian. 13. Promptly remove from 
the herd any animal suspected of being in bad health and 
reject her milk. Never add an animal to the herd until 
certain it is free from disease, especially tuberculosis. 14. 
Do not move cows faster than a comfortable walk while on 
the way to place of milking or feeding. 15. Never allow 
the cows to be excited by hard driving, abuse, loud talking 
or unnecessary disturbance; do not expose them to cold or 
storms. 16. Do not change the feed suddenly. 17. Feed 
liberally, and use only fresh, palatable feed stuffs; in no 
case should decomposed or mouldy material be used. 18. 
Provide water in abundance, easy of access, and always 
pure; fresh, but not too cold. 19. Salt should always 
be accessible. 20. Do not allow any strong flavored food, 
like silage, turnips, cabbage, and garlic, to be eaten, except 
immediately after milking. 21. Clean the entire body of 
the cow daily. If hair in the region of the udder is not 
easily kept clean it should be clipped. 22. Do not use milk 
within twenty days before calving, nor for three to five 
days afterwards. 



92 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Milking.— 23. The milker should be clean in all re- 
spects; he should not use tobacco; he should wash and dry 
his hands just before milking. 24. The milker should wear 
a clean outer garment, used only when milking, and kept in 
a clean place at other times. 25. Brush the udder and sur- 
rounding parts just before milking, and wipe them with a 
clean, damp cloth or sponge. 26. Milk quietly, quickly, 
cleanly, and thoroughly. Cows do not like unnecessary 
noise or delay. Commence milking at exactly the same 
hour every morning and evening, and milk the cows in the 
same order. 27. Throw away (but not on the floor, better 
in the gutter) the first few streams from each teat; this 
milk is very watery and of little value, but it may injure 
the rest. 28. If in any milking a part of the milk is bloody 
or stringy or unnatural in appearance, the whole mess 
should be rejected. 29. Milk with dry hands; never 
allow the hands to come in contact with the milk. 30. Do 
not allow dogs, cats or loafers to be around 'at milking 
time. 31. If any accident occurs by which a pail full or 
partly full of milk becomes dirty, do not try to remedy this 
by straining, but reject all this milk and rinse the pail. 
32. Weigh and record the milk given by each cow and take 
a sample morning and night, at least once a week, for test- 
ing by the fat test. 

Care of Milk. — 33. Remove the milk of every cow at 
once from the stable to 'a clean, dry room, where the air is 
pure and sweet. Do not allow cans to remain in stables 
while they are being filled. 34. Strain the milk through 
a metal gauze and a flannel cloth or layer of cotton as soon 
as it is drawn. 35. Aerate and cool the milk as soon as 
strained. If an apparatus for airing and cooling at the 
same time ic not at hand, the milk should be aired first. 
This must be done in pure air and it should then be cooled 
to 45 degrees if the milk is for shipment, or to 60 degrees 
if for home use or delivery to a factory. 36. Never close 
a can containing warm milk which has not been aerated. 
37. If cover is left off the can, a piece of cloth or mosquito 
netting should be used to keep out insects. 38. If milk 
is stored, it should be held in tanks of fresh, cold water 
(renewed daily), in a clean, dry cold room. Unless it is 
desired to remove cream, it should be stirred with a tin 
stirrer often enough to prevent forming a thick cream 
layer. 39. Keep the night milk under shelter so rain can 
not get into the cans. In warm weather hold it in a tank of 
fresh cold water. 40. Never mix fresh warm milk with 
that which has been cooled. 41. Do not allow the milk 



DAIRYING. FEEDING. 93 

to freeze. 42. Under no circumstances should arything be 
added to milk to prevent its souring. Cleanliness and cold 
are the only preventatives nedeed. 43. All milk should be 
in good condition when delivered. This may make it neces- 
sary to deliver twice a dav during the hottest weather. 
44. When cans are hauled far they should be full, and car- 
ried in a spring wagon. 45. In hot weather cover the cans, 
when moved in a wagon, with a clean wet blanket or can- 
vas. 

The "Utensils. — 46. Milk utensils for farm use should 
be made of metal and have all joints smoothly soldered. 
Never allow them to become rusty or rough inside. 47. 
Do not haul waste products back to the farm in the same 
cans used for delivering milk. When this is unavoidable, 
insist that the skim milk or whey tank be kept clean. 48. 
Cans used for the return of skim milk or whey should be 
emptied and cleaned as soon as they arrive at the farm. 
49. Clean all dairy utensils by first thoroughly rinsing 
them in warm water; then clean inside and out with a brush 
and hot water in which a cleaning material is dissolved; 
then rinse and lastly sterilize by boiling water or steam. 
Use pure water only. 50. After cleaning, keep utensils 
inverted, in pure air, and in as much sunlight as possible, 
until wanted for use. 

FEEDING FARM ANIMALS: 

Domestic animals differ from wild breeds in that they 
produce fat milk, eggs, wool or other products in large 
quantities instead of in the small amounts necessary to 
sustain life and reproduce their kind. The improved ani- 
mal has a greater stomach capacity and gives profitable 
returns when heavily fed. Besides this, there is the dif- 
ference that animals fed scientifically or bred for a certain 
purpose place the weight where it is of the most use or 
fulfil the purpose for which they are bred. 

The two sciences, physiology and chemistry, are used 
as a basis for stock feeding. The practical stock grower 
studies the feeds which are most effective to produce the 
results he wants, the amounts to be fed, combination and 
effects, it being the aim all the while to feed the most eco- 
nomical and effective ration so as to obtain the greatest 
possible results at least expense. The general rule in fat- 
tening an animal is to start as early as possible and mar- 
ket in the shortest posible time. This subject is treated 
more in detail under the heads, Cattle, Swine, etc., to which 
the reader is referred. 



94 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Composition of Foods. — While the ordinary farmer pays 
but little attention to the constitutent foods which he 
gives his stock, yet it is at all times of advantage to know 
these constituents, as a guide to more intelligent feeding. 

Protein denotes a group of compounds the principle con- 
stituent of which is nitrogen. Protein is necessary to ani- 
mal life, building up the muscles and tissues of the body 
and at times furnishing heat and energy as well as form- 
ing fat. 

Ether extract comprehends the oil and fats of feeding 
stuffs. Corn is one of the grains containing the most oil 
as is shown in its fattening tendency. Oats, flax, cotton 
and mustard are also rich in fat. 

Carbohydrates denote starches, gums, and sugars, to- 
gether with substances resembling them. Corn, potatoes 
and cassava are rich in carbohydrates, starch being ob- 
tained from these products. Carbohydrates together with 
fats and oils when digested give the heat and energy for 
the animal body. Besides this they also furnish the fat 
itself. 

Crude fiber, the woody part of plants, does not aid in 
upbuilding of the animal body to any great extent. The 
coarser the fodder the greater the amount of crude fiber. 

There are two broad classes of feeding stuffs; fodders 
and the grains. The ordinary feeding stuffs are 9 or 10 
in number. Bran is the outer hull of grains and is fed 
sparingly to horses; it is an excellent dairy and fattening 
feed. Middlings or shorts are excellent feed for young pigs 
and are good feeds for any animal being fattened. In oat 
feed the hulls and a part of the kernels of the oat are of 
inferior value. Barley feed is a similar part of the barley 
grain. Corn is an excellent feeding stuff. Brewers' grains 
are valuable for feeding to dairy cows; when dried they 
make an excellent concentrate and stand shipment. Malt 
sprouts are nutritious but are not liked by animals. Cotton- 
seed hulls are fed in the South along with cottonseed-meal. 
Cottonseed-meal is one of the most valuable and effective 
stock foods, being excellent for fattening steers and for 
milch cows. Hogs and cattle are injured by it if fed too 
liberally or for some time. Linseed meal having a high 
percentage of protein is beneficial to the health and ap- 
pearance of all farm animals. 

GOAT: 

Raised to some extent in the United States for its hair, 
known as mohair, and also for meat, which is marketed, 



GOAT. THE HOG. 



95 



however, under the name of mutton. In the eastern states 
where goats are raised they are given the same care as 
sheep. In the western states they are kept in large herds 
of several thousand, being allowed to range the same as 
sheep. These goats are sheared twice a year in the south, 
but one shearing is sufficient in the north. 

A goat will yield 3 or 4 pounds of mohair, salable at 30 
to 40 cents per pound. 

HOG: 

The hog is often called "the mortgage lifter" of the 
corn-belt from Ohio to Kansas, but its power in this direc- 
tion is by no means confined to the region of the cheap corn. 
In the southern states more pounds of pork are used than 
that of all other meats combined. 

Breeds. — The common breeds in this country are the 
Berkshires, Poland-Chinas, Chester-Whites, Duroc-Jerseys, 




Diagram showing cuts of pork : 1, Head ; 
2, Shoulder ; 3, Back ; 4, Middle Cut ; 5, 
Belly ; 6, Ham ; 7, Ribs ; 8, Loin. 



though Essex, Sufi oiks, large and small Yorkshires, Farns- 
worths, Victorias, Hampshires and a few others are occa- 
sionally seen. Many of the breeds have approached a com- 
mon type and have the same general form. The bacon 
breeds, however, afford a striking contrast to the lard-and- 
pork varieties. 



96 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

The Pork Hog. — The outline of a pork hog when viewed 
from any direction should be nearly that of a parallelogram 
with rounded corners; the back and belly as well as the 
sides should be straight and parallel; viewed from front or 
rear the outline should be nearly square, shoulders should 
be full and square with the legs set well apart; the back 
should be broad and straight and slightly arched; the hams 
should be as wide as the shoulders; nearly flat across at 
the top; the legs should be short and straight and set well 
apart. 

The Bacon Hog. — Bacon hogs (Tamworths and large 
Yorkshires) are long, deep-bodied and upstanding. 

Berkshire. — Black with white markings in face and 
white on feet; bred in most of the states; very prolific and 
make unsurpassed mothers for their young. They are good 
breeders. 

Poland-China. — Strongest breed numerically in America ; 
fatten quickly and mature early; black with white points 
and occasionally white spots; not as prolific as some other 
breeds; widely distributed. 

Duroc- Jersey. — The modern type of this breed resem- 
bles that of the Poland-China; cherry red in color; good 
feeders, easily fattened and hardy; exceedingly prolific. 

Chester Whites. — These are favorites where a white 
hog of the large type is wanted. 

Essex. — This is a small, black hog, not common in 
America. 

Victorias, Hampshires and Cheshires belong to about the 
same class, none of them being numerous in this country. 

Large Yorkshire. — White in color; large, popular bacon 
type, a good breeder and rustler, making excellent bacon 
on forage and root crops. It is growing rapidly in favor, 
even in the corn belt. 

Tamworth. — Red, noted for its prolificacy and hardi- 
ness. The Tamworth is a very satisfactory bacon type 
which is found in a number of states. 

The Best Breeds. — There are no differences other than 
have been determined in the feeding qualities of the various 
breeds of hogs. As a general thing, the larger the hog 
when matured the more profitable feeder he is. There is 
no best breed. All have their place. 

Boars. — What the pork raiser requires in the boar is 
good form and size without coarseness, good feeding capac- 
ity and good constitution. Short legs and short neck with 
short broad face usually indicate good fattening qualities. 



THE HOG. 97 

Among the points to be avoided are a long head, long neck 
and legs. Boars should not be purchased until they are 
4 or 5 months old, as they do not show their form fully 
before that time; they cost less at weaning time, but the 
chance of getting a poor animal is greater. A boar should 
never be allowed to run with the sows and it is much better 
to keep him in a lot where he can neither hear nor see 
other hogs. 

Sows. — Sows for breeding can usually be selected from 
the drove. Sows selected should be good feeders and have 
a prospect of becoming good milkers. Usually a chunky, 
easily fattened, heavy-boned and short-legged sow is not 
as good a milker as one with a long body, longer legs and 
somewhat less rounded sides. A sow which is a good milker 
is usually a prolific, careful mother also. A boar and a 
sow having the same defects should never be mated. 

Age at Which to Breed. — The usual breeding time for 
sows is 8 months old and after. In the south two lit- 
ters may be raised yearly, having them come about April 
and October. Ordinarily sows, especially of certain breeds, 
cease to be prolific or profitable breeders after 4 or 5 years 
of age. If a sow more than 4 years old fails to give a good 
litter she may as well be fattened at once. When only 
one litter is raised yearly it should come about March. 

Care of Breeding Sows. — A sow carrying pigs may be 
left with the drove for 2 months, afterwards being kept 
separate or with other pregnant sows; the feed should be 
mostly bone and muscle- producing, such as bran, ground 
oats and comparatively little corn. Fresh green feed is 
especially needed and if grazing is not convenient it should 
be cut and fed liberally. A week or 10 days before far- 
rowing she should be put in a pen by herself where she 
will not be disturbed by other animals. The pen should 
have a floor and running around the sides a 12 inch plank 
should be fastened 8 or 10 inches above the floor to afford 
the pigs a safe place where the sow cannot crush or smother 
them. But little bedding should be used. A constant 
supply of salt and ashes is especially needed at this time 
to satisfy the cravings for such food which often causes 
sows to eat their young. 

When the sow is about to farrow she should have only 
light feed and all the water she wants. If she has had 
proper feed and treatment she will rarely need assistance 
in farrowing, but the owner should be at hand and watch 
her closely and be ready to give help if needed. 



98 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

After farrowing the sow should be given nothing but 
water during the first 24 hours, and afterwards fed but 
lightly for several days. Feeding the sow the first month 
is of more importance than at any other time; on this 
depends the vigor of the pigs. If the sow's milk supply 
is too small they will be. stunted, and if too large they are 
almost sure to be affected with scours; so it requires close 
watching and good judgment to give the sow just the right 
amount of food to keep her and the pigs in the best of 
condition. When pigs show signs of scouring the sow 
should have less food and be given strong lime water to 
drink, or a little sulphur in feed. If the pigs can drink 
they should be given a little skimmed milk in which a little 
wheat flour has been mixed, and an egg 'stirred in with the 
milk for each two pigs will be beneficial. If the pigs are 
too young to drink they should be given 4 or 5 drops of 
paregoric. 

Raising Pigs. — They begin to eat when about three 
weeks old and should be provided with a feeding place 
near the pen in which the sow is kept so that they can get 
at it when they wish to eat. A few grains of soaked corn 
will soon get the pigs in the habit of eating. Skimmed 
milk should be given them when they begin to drink. 
Cornmeal is too fattening and is a poor food for young 
pigs, unless used in connection with skimmed milk. 

When the litter is three weeks old they should have 
the run of a lot where they can get sunshine, exercise and 
fresh grazing. The pigs will be able to feed themselves by 
the time they are 8 weeks old by grazing and will receive 
no check by weaning, as it will be very gradual. Pigs 
should have all the solid food they will eat while still 
sucking. 

The sow will usually get in heat from one to two weeks 
after her pigs are weaned. If she is to be bred again she 
should be served the first opportunity. 

The pigs should be pushed as rapidly as possible after 
weaning, for the sooner they can be made to weigh 200 
pounds each the more profitable they will be. 

Castrating and Spaying. — Young boars not wanted for 
breeding may be castrated at any time after they are a 
month old; if done at from 4 to 6 weeks they will have 
fully recovered by the time they are weaned. If not done 
then it is better to wait until a month after weaning so 
that they will have been accustomed to the change of 
food. 



TEE HOG. 



99 



Spaying young sows is not difficult and should be more 
general. It is best done when they are between 3 and 4 
months old. Spayed animals are more quiet and better 
feeders than open sows, making better pork and usually 
sell for better prices. 

Pasture. — Hog raising can seldom be made profitable 
without a good permanent pasture where the hogs can get 
a large proportion of their coarser food at a nominal price. 
Red clover is excellent and alfalfa is good. A good pasture 
is as necessary for hogs as for the growing of beef animals. 
Hogs are wasteful grazers when turned into rank pasturage 
and a great saving can be secured by growing the different 
grazing crops in narrow fields which can be divided into 
sections by the removal of transverse fences. 

Feeding. — Cooking feed is rarely profitable. Irish pota- 
toes are greatly improved by cooking but few other feeds 
are. One item of feed which should never be neglected is 
a good supply of salt and ashes to which the hogs can have 
access at all times. 

Large and small hogs should never be fed together and 
no feed should be thrown on the ground. 

In fattening for the market the feeder should induce 
his hogs to eat all they can digest in order to secure gains 
as rapidly as possible. A pig which is made to weigh 200 
pounds at six months old or 300 pounds at 9 months of 
age is likely to be profitable, while if it takes two years 
to make 300 pounds the last 100 pounds is usually made 
at a loss. The time to market hogs ordinarily is when 
the hogs weigh from 250 to 300 pounds. The table of 
the Wisconsin experiment station in which was compiled 
the results of more than 500 tests made at different ex- 
periment stations may be regarded as very conclusive evi- 
dence. The figures are as follows: 



Weight of 


Average 


F»ed eaten 


Average 


Feed eaten 


pigs. 


feed per 


daily per 100 


gain per 


for each 




day 


pounds of live 
weight. 


day. 


100 pounds 
of gain. 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 


15-50 


223 


5.95 


0.76 


293 


50-100 


3.35 


4.32 


.83 


400 


100-150 


4.79 


3.75 


1.10 


437 


150-200 


5.91 


3.43 


1.24 


482 


200-250 


6.57 


2.91 


1.33 


498 


250-300 


7.40 


2.74 


1.46 


511 


300-350 


7.50 


2.35 


1.40 


535 



100 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

This table shows the greatest as well as the most 
profitable gains were made on the lighter hogs. It is 
always to be remembered that summer feeding is cheap, 
while winter feeding is expensive and as much of the gain 
should be made by grazing and as little from the crib as 
possible. 

Diseases. — The most common disease affecting hogs is 
hog cholera. Swine plague is somewhat different from 
hog cholera, but the same remedy will apply. Although 
there is no remedy known which is invariably successful, 
Dr. Salmon recommends the use of the following: 

Pounds. 

Wood charcoal 1 

Sulphur 1 

Sodium chloride 2 

Sodium bicarbonate 2 

Sodium hyposulphite 2 

Sodium sulphate 1 

Antimony sulphide (black antimony) 1 

These ingredients should be completely pulverized and 
thoroughly mixed. 

The dose of this mixture is a large tablespoonful for 
each 200 pounds weight of hogs to be treated, and it should 
be given only once a day. 

Prevention, however, is much better than treatment. 
It is considered contagious and care should be taken -that 
infection is not carried in any way. Dead animals should 
be burned instead of being buried. The disease is so fatal 
and so difficult to treat that too much care cannot be taken 
to prevent its spreading. 

HORSE: 

A quadruped, the most common animal of draft, used 
throughout the world. The main use of horses in the 
United States is for the purposes of draft, though in 
Europe they are used to a considerable extent for food. 

The mare carries her foal on an average of 11 months 
or 330 days; when born it commonly weighs about 100 
pounds and has a daily increase of from 1 to 3 pounds 
while young. The work that a horse can perform has 
been accurately determined, and all engines are given a 
specified horsepower. The horse is able to do the most 
work when driven at the speed of about 2 miles per hour. 
Unlike stock farms, there are few places where horses are 



THE HORSE. 101 

bred to the exclusion of other stock, being generally raised 
as a side line. This is one of the reasons why there are 
seldom a uniform number of animals of high class on 
the market. 

There are 5 classes of horses which are recognized on 
the Chicago market ; these are : ( 1 ) The cab horse ; ( 2 ) 
the carriage horse; (3) the bus horse; (4) the draft 
horse; (5) the American trotter. 

The carriage horse should weigh about 1,100 pounds 
and stand 15 to 16 hands high; cab horses weigh from 
1,050 to 1,100 pounds and stand about 15 hands high. A 
typical general- purpose horse is needed to answer the 
description of a bus horse, should stand about 15 to 16 
hands high and weigh 1,250 to 1,500 pounds. A good 
general-purpose horse is the requirement for a draft horse, 
while the trotting horse is very seldom raised by the 
average farmer, as it requires too much attention to breed. 

Breeds of Horses. — Percherons are the most widely dis- 
tributed draft breed in America. They were introduced 
from Prance, and are sometimes called Normans. Clydes- 
dales, originating in Scotland, are the second most impor- 
tant draft breed in this country. Shires closely resemble 
them. Belgians are generally heavier than any other 
drafters. Suffolks are more of the general-purpose type. 
German and French Coachers are general-purpose breeds. 
Hackneys, thoroughbreds and standard-breds, furnish the 
high-acting and speed horses. Shetland ponies are diminu- 
tive horses, 42 inches being their standard of height. Welsh 
ponies are bred by a few farmers in the eastern states. 

The safest way of determining the age of a horse is 
by the appearance of the teeth, which undergo certain 
changes in the course of years. 

Eight to fourteen days after birth, the first middle 
nippers of the set of milk teeth are cut (Fig. 1), four to 
six weeks afterwards the pair next to them (Fig. 2), 
and finally, after six or eight months, the last (Fig. 3). 

All these milk teeth have a well defined body and 
neck, and a slender fang, and on their front surface grooves 
of furrows, which disappear from the middle nippers at 
the end of one year, from the next pair in two years, and 
from the incisive teeth (cutters) in three years. 

At the age of two the nippers become loose and fall 
out, in their places appear two permanent teeth, with 
deep, black cavities, and full, sharp edges ( Fig. 4 ) . 

At the age of three, the next pair (Fig. 5) fall out. 



102 



THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



At four years old, the corner teeth fall out (Fig. 6). 

At five years old, the horse has his permanent set of 
teeth. 

The teeth grow in length as the horse advances in 
years, but at the same time his teeth are worn away by 
use about one-twelfth of an inch every year, so that the 
black cavities of the center nippers below disappear in 
the sixth year (Fig. 7), those of the next pair in the 
seventh year (Fig. 8), and those of the corner teeth in the 
eighth year (Fig. 9). Also the outer corner teeth of upper 
and lower jaw just meet at eight years of age. 

At nine years old, cups leave the two center nippers 
above, and each of the two upper corner teeth has a little 
sharp protrusion at the extreme outer corner (Fig. 10). 




Changes In the teeth of horses, due to age. 



At the age of ten, the cups disappear from the adjoin- 
ing teeth. 

At the age of eleven, the cups disappear from the corner 
teeth above, and are only indicated by brownish spots. 

The oval form becomes broader, and changes, from the 
twelfth to the sixteenth year, more and more into a tri- 
angular form, and the teeth lose, finally, with the twen- 
tieth year, all regularity. There is nothing remaining in 
the teeth that can afterwards clearly show the age of the 
horse, or justify the most experienced examiner in giving a 
positive opinion. 

The tushes, or canine teeth, conical in shape, with a 
sharp point, and curved, are cut between the third and 
fourth year, their points become more and more rounded 
until the ninth year, and after that, more and more dull 



THE HORSE. 103 

in the course of years, and lose, finally, all regular shape. 
Mares have, frequently, no tusks, or only those very faintly 
indicated. 

Vices. — Cribbing is one of the most injurious habits to 
which a horse can be addicted. Horses which have con- 
tracted the cribbing habit seize the edge of the manger in 
their teeth; this is often accompanied by a continuous 
drawing in of air when it is known as wind sucking. To 
remedy this vice use an open iron muzzle which so arranged 
with sharp points as to prick the lips when attempt is 
made to crib. 

Feeding. — Feed given horses depends greatly upon the 
locality and the season. During the winter in the northern 
states horses are fed hay and one or more kinds of grain. 
During the summer months they are often allowed to run 
in the pasture when not at work and fed enough grain to 
keep them in condition. Oats is the standard grain for 
horses, especially in the northern states, it being held by 
many horsemen that they possess peculiar properties that 
are found in no other grain. However, horses kept on other 
grains do nearly as well as those fed to a great extent c i : 
oats. Barley may be accepted as a substitute for oats, but 
it takes slightly more of the grain and is better if ground; 
it apears to be more fattening. 

Bran, especially when mixed with shorts, is equal or 
slightly superior to oats in feeding value. Cottonseed-meal 
has a high feeding value, being fed at rate of 2 to 2% 
pounds per day per horse. It is not commonly used for 
horses. More than 5 or 6 pounds should never be fed. 
Corn is an important grain for horses, ranking next to 
oats, being fed more in the south than in the north. Kaffir 
corn is well liked by horses; they eat both the corn and 
the stalks to good advantage. 

Wheat is not fed to any great extent to horses; how- 
ever, it has been found to be beneficial in building up a 
horse run down by hard work or giving the necessary bot- 
tom for unusually hard labor. 

Corn Fodder.— The standard hay in the north is timothy, 
though timothy and clover is fed to a large extent. Alfalfa 
as a rule is superior to timothy in its feeding value. Clover 
hay if clean and well cured and not affected with dust or 
must is more nutritious than timothy; if not of excellent 
quality it produces heaves. Corn silage and corn stover 
are both economical feeds for horses. Straw is sometimes 
fed when hay is short; oat straw is the best, followed by 
barley, wheat and rye. More grain must be fed when straw 



104 



TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



is substituted for a hay ration. Timothy is preferred by 
nearly all horse raisers but should not be fed to the exclu- 
sion of other rough fodder. Roots and miscellaneous feed, 
such as rutabagas, artichokes and potatoes are fed to horses 
to some extent. 

HOW TO TELL A GOOD HORSE: 

For Speed. — Height, 15% hands; least weight, 1,000 
pounds; ears, pointed, flexible, set on side, not on top of 
head; head, symmetrical, full under forelock and between 
«ars; neck, long and slim, with little or no arch, set well 




Names and locations of points used in referring to the external 
conformation of the horse. 1, muzzle; 2, face; 3, fore- 
head ; 4, poll ; 5, crest ; 6, cheek ; 7, lower jaw ; 8, throat ; 
9, neck; 10, withers; 11, point of shoulder; 12, breast; 
13, elbow ; 14, forearm ; 15, knee ; 16, cannon or shank ; 
17, fetlock; 18, pastern; 19, coronet; 20, foot; 21, 
girth ; 22, belly ; 23, flank ; 24, back ; 25, loin ; 26, 
haunch or hip ; 27, croup ; 28, dock ; 29, thigh or quarter ; 
30, lower thigh or gaskin ; 31, hock; 32, heel. (Mumford.) 

tip on "top corner" of body; front legs reaching out true, 
strong and straight; front feet not thrown side wise when 



TEE EORSE. SEEEP. 105 

speeding; shoulders, set on obliquely; body, short top line, 
long lower line; hips well forward; muscles along back 
prominent, development judged by pressure with thumb 
and fingers; hind legs crooked at hock (but not too much 
so or they will be weak, and not too little or animal will 
"pound") ; portion of leg from hock to fetlock and also 
from knee to fetlock relatively short and broad (nor round- 
ish) when viewed from the side, but thin when seen from 
the rear; line drawn from hock to fetlock nearly straight, 
concave rawer than convex; if convex it is "curby"; hoofs 
not pointing out; skin moderately thick and firm; chest 
capacity large; body round. 

For Work. — Full forehead; intelligent face; shoulders- 
strong and sloping; gait free ahd easy; stride long; arm 
muscular; legs Btrong, rather short and flat; pastern slop- 
ing; feet large and not too fiat; body large in girth and 
round; back broad, with muscular quarters; croup wide; 
weight (not clumsy) from 1,200 to 1,600 pounds, according 
to work required; horse docile, hearty, and easily kept. 

THE MULE: 

A hybrid between the male ass and the mare. There 
are various strains of jacks used in breeding, as the Cata- 
lonian, height, 14% to 15 hands; Andalusian, somewhat 
heavier; Majorca, a large animal 16 hands high; Maltese, 
a small, smooth-coated animal. 

Mule raising became of relatively great importance be- 
cause of recent wars, the southern and south central states 
raising the largest numbers. Mules are better than horses 
for extremely hard labor, iregular living and freedom from 
disease; they are also small feeders. There are two type3 
of mules recognized in the southern states: the sugar 
mule — a large, powerful animal — and the cotton mule, a 
smaller type. The care of mules is substantially the same 
as the care of the horse. 

SHEEP: 

A common domestic animal kept for its wool and flesh, 
which is called mutton. 

Breeds. — The general classification is Merinos and 
Coarse-Wools. Merinos have wool of fine fibre and are of 
many families, as Rambouillets, Delaines, Spanish, etc. 

Merinos are hardy and noted as being good "rangers." 
They are not the best feeders, their food going to produce 
wool more than flesh. Ordinary types of Merinos produce 
rams weighing from 120 to 175 pounds, with ewes weigh- 



106 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

ing from 80 to 140 pounds. Originally the wool was the 
main thing considered in a Merino; now the sheep are bred 
with more and better mutton under the wool. 

Delaines have a combing wool and a good body. Ram- 
bouillets are the largest and most "muttony" of Merinos, 
rams weighing sometimes 300 pounds and ewes 200. They 
are found in numbers on the western ranges. 

Coarse-Wools — These are divided into Long-Wools (Lin- 
colns, Cotswolds, Oxfords, Leicesters and some less com- 
mon breeds), and Downs or Middle-Wools ( Shropshires, 
Southdowns, Hampshires, Suffolks and Dorsets), with yet 
a third class, the Mountain Breeds (Chevoits, Black-faced 
Scotch and Welsh Mountain.) 

Lincoln. — The heaviest of mutton breed, with an abun- 
dant, long, coarse fleece. 

Cotswold. — Like the Lincoln, being more popular in the 
LTnited States and desirable for crossing on Merinos on the 
ranges. 

Leicester. — Fatten prodigiously and are useful for cross- 
breeding. 

Oxfords. — Sometimes classed among the Downs; they 
have black or brown faces and legs, excellent for mutton or 
cross-breeding. 

Southdown. — The "aristocrat" of longest lineage of the 
Down breeds; small, neat, easily fattened. 

Shropshire. — Most popular of all mutton breeds; white 
with black or brown points; larger than the Southdown 
which it resembles. 

Hampshire. — Larger than Shropshires, with blacker 
points and closer wool, an excellent feeder, reputed the best 
for making big fat lamps from hurdles. 

Suffolk. — Like the Hampshires in many respects. 

Dorsets. — A horned breed with white points, once the 
dairy sheep of South England, now famed for its fat winter 
lambs. 

Cheviot. — Of the mountain breeds this is the most com- 
mon in America; it is active, profitable, adapted to grazing 
and to cool climates and high pastures. 

Care. — Wet is bad for sheep; they should have dry foot- 
ing in well littered sheds and yards, and kept sheltered 
from rains so far as possible. 

Feed for Breeding Ewes.— Alfalfa hay where it is to be 
had, clover or cowpea hay elsewhere are a good basis. Add 
corn stover and half a pound daily of grain, oats or bran 



SHEEP. 107 

or the two mixed. Corn silage may well form part of 
the ration. 

Flushing Ewes. — Well fed ewes bear more twins than 
starved ones. Two or three weeks before breeding them 
begin to feed a moderate grain ration, putting also on fresh 
pasture, and a larger increase will result. 

The Ram. — Select one of vigor to head the flock. He 
may be mated with 50 ewes but should not be permitted 
to run with them. He may be turned with them at night 
and taken away early in the morning, being carefully fed 
and kept quiet during the day time. A yearling ram will 
do good service, though an older one is more capable. 

Lambing. — Shepherds must give close attention when 
lambs come. Often to help the lamb to its first meal will 
save its life, and always the milk should be started from the 
teats of the ewe and loose tags of wool pulled away. 
When there are twins, or the lamb is weak, place the ewe 
and her offspring in a small pen where they may remain 
together until they become strong and attached to each 
other. 

Should a ewe lose her lamb, immediately remove its 
skin and slip it over some twin that may thus be adopted 
by a foster mother and thrive the more with all the milk. 
A chilled lamb is best revived by a bath in a tub of water 
as hot as one can bear his hand. 

Weaning. — Lambs should be accustomed almost from 
birth to eating hay and grain in some place apart from 
their mothers. The ram lambs may be weaned at the age 
of about four —onths, though ewe lambs may run with their 
mothers for a longer time. Weaned lambs must always be 
placed upon fresh pasture, apart from all older sheep which 
might infect them with parasites. 

Water is essential to the flock at all times save when 
pasturing rape or other succulent forage. Salt should be 
always at hand. Rock salt is convenient; if barrel salt is 
used it should be fed liberally so that the sheep will not 
become hungry for it. 

Whether it pays to feed lambs before weaning or not 
depends upon the location of the flock. On western ranges 
grass is the cheaper feed. Upon farms east of the Missouri 
river it is more profitable to force the lambs to quick ma- 
turity with grain from birth. Cracked corn with wheat 
bran is a good ration for beginning feed. Wheat bran is 
an excellent source of bone and muscle in the lamb; corn 
of fat. Alfalfa or clover hay should form the basis of the 
feed. 



108 



TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 



Rape. — Much like cabbage in its qualities and makes 
much food in summer or fall, lasting until cold weather. 
If sheep or lambs bloat upon rape or alfalfa pasture admin- 
ister a raw egg, or a half pint of sweet milk to which has 
been added some lime water. A trochar should be the last 
resort in case the bloating continues. When turning sheep 
on alfalfa pasture feed them well just before turning on 
and be sure that the alfalfa is sufficiently mature to be 
near the blooming stage. 

Fattening Sheep. — Lambs should be started on alfalfa 
hay or clover with a very small ration of grain, which may 




Diagram showing cuts of mutton. 



be slowly increased. Silage in connection is a great aid. 
A gain of a quarter of a pound per day is considered very 
good. Lambs make cheaper gains than cattle, being 
younger. 

Feeds. — Barley is excellent, but being rich must not be 
fed in large amounts at first. Corn has in it more fat 
than any other grain. Oats are invaluable in the breeding 
flock but are usually too dear for the feeder. Peas or soy 
beans are profitably fed with corn. They are very rich 
in protein. Screenings vary much; they may have half the 
feding value of corn. Wheat is nearly as good as corn. 

Range Methods.— When a ranger has 50,000 to 100,000 
sheep grazing on free grass he adopts methods suited to his 
environment. A man with dog may have 2,500 in his 
care; he moves about following the grass and water. Pro- 
vision for winter is becoming more and more common, 
though the larger number of range sheep are not fed at 
any time of the year. During the lambing season the bands 
are made smaller and more men are employed to save the 
lambs. In some regions sheds are used; generally they 
are Hot. Shearing is late, and often done by machine. 



8EEEP. REGISTRY ASSOCIATIONS. 109 

Diseases. — There are two principal diseases of sheep on 
the ranges; scab and starvation. Scab is caused by a min- 
ute parasite similar to a crab louse. It is cured by immer- 
sion of the sheep in any good dip. Favorite dips are the 
coal tar praparations, also the lime and sulphur dip made 
on the range. Tobacco dips are effective and leave the wool 
in good condition. 

Head scab is caused by a burrowing parasite. Foot-rot 
is seldom seen on dry ranges; it is always infectious and 
should be combatted vigorously. To cure it pare away all 
diseased horn and apply a strong solution of bluestone, 
or of butyr of antimony. A trough with three inches of 
lime whitewash and a little bluestone, through which the 
flock is caused to pass, prevents the spread of the disorder. 
The gad-fly annoys the farm flock and causes "grub in the 
head." A preventive is to have a cool, dark shed for the 
flock to lie in in day time. The sheep tick is like a small 
crab; it causes great annoyance and loss of thrift. Any 
dip will destroy it. Repeat the dipping in 10 days to get 
the eggs. 

The stomach worm destroys more lambs than all other 
causes. It is a minute worm about the size of a hair and 
three-fourths of an inch long. It inhabits the fourth stom- 
ach and causes the condition called "paper skin," char- 
acterized by whiteness of skin and listlessness. Scours often 
appear, or constipation, and death sooner or later. The 
cause is infection from the older sheep which deposit the 
germs upon the young and tender grass, whence they are 
taken in by the lambs. Prevention consists in giving the 
lambs early birthright, then good food, pushing them for- 
ward, and at weaning time pasture away from all older 
sheep and on land not grazed by any sheep that year. Cure 
is possible; doses of a teaspoonful to three teaspoonfuls 
of gasoline in half a glass of sweet milk, given after fasting 
16 hours, and repeated three days in succession, will cure 
about all cases. 

PEDIGREE REGISTRY ASSOCIATIONS: 

Following is a complete list of all the cattle, horse, 
sheep and hog registry associations in the United States, 
together with the name and addresses of their secretaries. 

CATTLE: 

American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association — 
Thomas McFarlane, Pedigree Record Building, Union Stock 
Yards, Chicago, Secretary. 



110 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

American Branch Association of the North Holland Herd 
Book. — N. F. Sluiter, Brooklyn, N. Y., Secretary. 

American Devon Cattle Club — L. P. Sisson, Newark, 0., 
Secretary. 

American Galloway Breeders' Association — Chas. Gray, 
Pedigree Record Building, Union Stock Yards, Chicago, 
Secretary. 

American Guernsey Cattle Club — W. H. Caldwell, Peter- 
boro, N. H., Secretary. 

American Hereford Breeders' Association — C. R. Thomas, 
Stock Yards, Kansas City, Mo., Secretary. 

American Jersey Cattle Club — J. J. Hemingway, New 
York, Secretary. 

American Normandy Herd Book Association — E. G. 
Kramer, New York, Secretary. 

American Polled Durham Breeders' Association — Fletcher 
S. Hines, Indianapolis. Ind., Secretary. 

American Simmenthal Herd Book Association — E. G. 
Kramer, New York, Secretary. 

American Short-horn Breeders' Association — John W. 
Groves, Pedigree Record Building, Union Stock Yards, Chi- 
cago, Secretary. 

American Sussex Breeders' Association— Overton Lea, 
Nashville, Tenn., Secretary. 

Ayrshire Breeders' Association — C. M. Winslow, Bran- 
don, Vt., Secretary. 

Breeders' Association of French-Canadian Cattle of the 
United States — W. J. McMurdy, Binghamton, N. Y., Sec- 
retary. 

Brown Swiss Cattle Breeders' Association — N. S. Fish, 
Groton, Conn., Secretary. 

Dutch Belted Cattle Association of America— H. B. Rich- 
ards, Eston, Pa., Secretary. 

Holstein-Friesian Association of America— F. L. Hough- 
ton, Brattleboro, Vt., Secretary. 

Maine State Jersey Cattle Association — N. R. Pike, Win- 
throp, Me., Secretary. 

National Polled Hereford Breeders' Association — A. E. 
White, Chicaeo, Secretary, 5629 Madison Ave. 

Red Polled Cattle Club of America (incorporated) — 
Harley A. Martin, Gotham, Wis., Secretary. 

HORSES— Horse Registers. 

American Association of Importers and Breeders of 
Belgian Draft Horses — J. D. Conner, J., Wabash, Ind., Sec- 
retary. 



HORSE AND SHEEP REGISTERS. Ill 

American Breeders' Association of Jacks and Jennets — 
J. W. Jones, Columbia, Tenn., Secretary. 

American Clydesdale Association — R. B. Ogilvie, Union 
Stock Yards, Chicago, Secretary. 

American Hackney Horse Society — A. H. Godfrey, New 
York, Secretary. 

Percheron Society of America — Geo. W. Stubblefield, 
Union Stock Yards, Chicago, Secretary. 

American Saddle Horse Breeders' Association — I. B. Nail, 
Louisville, Ky., Secretary. 

American Shetland Pony Club — Mortimer Levering, La- 
fayette, Ind., Secretary. 

American Shire Horse Breeders' Association — Chas. Bur- 
gess, Wenona, 111., Secretary. 

American Stud Book (Thoroughbreds) — James E. 
Wheeler, New York, Registrar. 

American Trotting Register Co. — W. H. Knight, Chicago, 
Secretary. 

American Suffolk Horse Association — Alexander Gal- 
braith, Janesville, Wis., Secretary. 

Cleveland Bay Society of America — R. P. Stericker, West 
Orange, N. J., Secretary. 

French Coach Horse Society of America — Duncan E. 
Willett, 2112 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Secretary. 

German, Hanoverian and Oldenburg Coach Horse Breed- 
ers' Association — J. Crouch, Lafayette, Ind., Secretary. 

Morgan Horse Register — Joseph Battel, Middlebury, Vt., 
Editor. 

National French Draft Horse Association — C. E. Stubbs, 
Fairfield, la., Secretary. 

Oldenburg Coach Horse Association of America — C. E. 
Stubbs, Fairfield, la., Secretary. 

SHEEP— Sheep Registers. 

American Angora Goat Breeders' Association — John W. 
Fulton. Kansas City, Mo., Secretary. 

American Cheviot Sheep Society — F. E. Dawley, Fay- 
etteville, N. Y., Secretary. 

American Cotswold Association — Frank W. Harding, 
Waukesha, Wis., Secretary. 

American Leicester Breeders' Association — A. J. Temple, 
Cameron, 111., Secretary. 

American Milch Goat Record Association — W. A. Shafor, 
Hamilton, O., Secretary. 

American Oxford Down Association — W. A. Shafor, 
Hamilton, O., Secretary. 



112 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

American Rambouillet Sheep-Breeders' Association — 
Dwight Lincoln, Milford Center, O., Secretary. 

American Shropshire Registry Association — Mortimer 
Levering, Lafayette, Ind., Secretary . 

American Southdown Breeders' Association — Frank S. 
Springer, Springfield, 111., Secretary. 

American Suffolk Flock Registry Association — Geo. W. 
Franklin, Des Moines, la., Secretary. 

American Tunis Sheep-Breeders' Association — Charles 
Rountree, Crawfordsville, Ind., Secretary. 

Black-Top Spanish Merino Sheep-Breeders' Publishing 
Association — R. P. Berry, Clokey, Pa., Secretary. 

Continental Dorset Club — Joseph E. Wing, Mechanics- 
burg, 0., Secretary. 

Dickinson Record Co. — H. G. McDowell, Canton, 0., Sec- 
retary. 

Dorset Horn Breeders' Association of America — M. A. 
Cooper, Washington, Pa., Secretary. 

Franco-American Merino Sheep-Breeders' Association — ■ 
John P. Ray, Hemlock, N. Y., Secretary. 

Hampshire Down Breeders' Association of America — C. 
A. Tyler, Nottawa, Mich., Secretary. 

Improved Black-Top Delaine Merino Sheep-Breeders' As- 
sociation — M. 0. Robertson, Eaton Rapids, Mich., Secretary. 

Improved Delaine Merino Sheep-Breeders' Association — 
George A. Henry, Bellefontaine, 0., Secretary. 

International Delaine Merino Sheep Record — U. C. 
Brouse, Kendallville, Ind., Secretary. 

International von Homeyer Rambouillet Club — E. M. 
Moore, Orchard Lake, Mich., Secretary. 

Interstate and International Polled Dickinson Register 
— H. G. McDowell, Canton, 0., Secretary. 

Michigan Merino Sheep-Breeders Association — E. N. Ball, 
Hamburg, Mich., Secretary. 

National Delaine Merino Sheep-Breeders' Association — 
John B. McClelland, Canonsburg, Pa., Secretary. 

National Lincoln Sheep-Breeders' Association — Bert 
Smith, Charlotte, Mich., Secretary. 

National Merino Sheep Register Association — R. O. Lo- 
gan, California, Mich., Secretary. 

National Shropshire Record Association — S. J. Weber, 
Middleville, Mich. 

New York State American Merino Sheep-Breeders' As- 
sociation — J. Horatio Earll, Skaneateles, N. Y., Secretary. 

Ohio Merino Sheep-Breeders' Association — Wesley Bish- 
op, Troyton, 0., Secretary. 



SHEEP AND HOG REGISTERS. 113 

Standard American Merino Sheep Breeders' Association 
— John P. Ray, Hemlock, N. Y., Secretary. 

Standard Delaine Spanish Merino Sheep-Breeders' As- 
sociation — S. M. Cleaver, West Brownsville, Pa., Secretary. 

United States Merino Sheep Registry Association — J. A. 
B. Walker, Mount Air, Pa., Secretary. 

Vermont Merino Sheep-Breeders' Asociation — C. A. 
Chapman, Ferrisburgh, Vt., Secretary. 

HOGS— Swine Registers : 

American Berkshire Association — Frank S. Springer, 
Springfield, 111., Secretary. 

American Chester White Record Association — Earnest 
Freigau, Dayton, O., Secretary. 

American Duroc-Jersey Swine-Breeders' Association — S. 
E. Morton, Camden, 0., Secretary. 

American Essex Association — F. M. Srout, McLean, 111., 
Secretary. 

American Poland-China Record Co. — W. M. McFadden, 
Pedigree Record Building, Union Stock Yards, Chicago, Sec- 
retary. 

American Tamworth Swine Record Association — E. N. 
Ball, Hamburg, Mich., Secretary. 

American Hampshire (Thin-Rind) Swine Record Asso- 
ciation — E. C. Stone, Armstrong, 111., Secretary. 

American Yorkshire Club — H. G. Krum, White Bear 
Lake, Minn., Secretary. 

Central Poland-China Record Association — W. H. Morris, 
Indianapolis, Ind., Secretary. 

Cheshire Swine-Breeders' Association — B. B. Badger, 
Ouaquaga, N. Y., Secretary. 

Improved Smoll Yorkshire Club of America — F. B. Stew- 
art, Espyville, Pa., Secretary. 

National Berkshire Record Association — E. K. Morris, 
Indianapolis, Ind., Secretary. 

National Chester White Record Association — Thomas 
Sharpless, West Chester, Pa., Secretary. 

National Duroc-Jersey Swine-Breeders' Asociation — 
Robert J. Evans, Peoria, 111., Secretary. 

O. I. C. Swine Breeders' Asociation — C. M. Hiles, Cleve- 
land, 0., Secretary. 

Ohio Poland-China Record Co. — A. M. Brown, Dayton, 
O., Secretary. 

Southwestern Poland-China Record Association — H. P. 
Wilson, Gadsden, Tenn., Secretary. 



114 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Standard Chester White Record Association — W. H. 
Morris, Indianapolis, Ind., Secretary. 

Standard Poland-China Record Co. — George F. Wood- 
worth, Maryville, Mo., Secretary. 

United States Small Yorkshire Association — D. T. Bas- 
com, California, Mich. 

Victoria Swine-Breeders' Association — H. Davis, Dyer, 
Ind., Secretary. 



PART IV. 
POULTRY AND BEES. 



POULTRY : 

The barnyard fowls are regarded by most farmers as a 
very insignificant part of their live stock; and yet, although 
so often neglected and forced to shift for themselves, the 
poultry and egg crop constitute in the aggregate one of the 
most important and valuable products of American agri- 
culture. There is no stock on the farm that yields a better 
relative return to the food consumed than do the hens, 
and consequently it is well worth while to consider in what 
manner their product may be increased without dispro- 
portionately increasing expenses. 

Kind. — The kind of chickens to be kept on a farm de- 
pends almost as much upon the kind of a man who manages 
them as upon any other condition. There are no birds 
which stand neglect better than the common mongrel, barn- 
yard fowls, for these have lived and developed under un- 
favorable conditions and are accustomed to shift for them- 
selves. They are generally hardy, vigorous, and yield a 
fair return in eggs or table poultry; they respond fairly 
well to generous treatment, and, if selected with some care, 
are by no means to be despised, even when their product 
is compared with that of the standard breeds. If, however. 
the highest returns are expected which care and skillful 
management can obtain, then a breed of fowls should be 
adopted which has been bred for generations with this 
object in view. 

Varieties. — The most popular fowls in the United States 
are the American breeds known as the Plymouth Rocks, 
Wyandottes and Rhode Island Reds. They are of medium 




Head | °!in7l?°ro m b h e wl <°. f f r° W l S : 1; Barred P'ymo^th Rock ; 
S'i„„i ^f- Comb White Le ghorn ; 3, Black Langshan : 4 
Black Minorca. ; 5, Silver Laced Wyandotte ; 6 Sinsrle 
Blfck PolNh- L Q gh Rf?l I' Li §^ Brahma; 8,White-c?erted 
^nSS&bSbg ( J S: 10> White " facea Black Span- 
(115) 



116 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

size, good as broilers, good as roasters, good egg producers; 
the hens are good setters, and good mothers, and for these 
reasons they are known as general purpose fowls. In the 
Barred, Buff, and White Plymouth Rocks, and the White, 
Silver, Buff, Golden, Black Partridge, Silver Penciled and 
Columbian Wyandottes, there is a sufficient range of color 
to meet almost any taste. 

For farmers who desire fowls more particularly for egg 
production the Mediterranean breeds, particularly the Leg- 
horns, Minorcas, and Spanish, are to be recommended. The 
birds of these breeds are smaller, more active, and greater 
foragers than the Rocks or Wyandottes, and as layers they 
are unsurpassed. Should it be desirable, on the other hand, 
to raise heavier birds than the Plymouth Rocks, we should 
naturally turn to the Asiatic breeds, which include the 
Brahmas, Cochins, and Langshans. 

In purchasing breeding stocks it is important to pur- 
chase from reliable breeders only, and to ascertain that 
the stock is in healthy condition and that it has been bred 
for early maturity, size, shape, and egg-producing quali- 
ties, rather than for perfection of feathering. , 

Poultry Houses.— It is very desirable that poultry 
should be provided with a house somewhat separated from 
the other farm buildings, but near enough to the barnyard 
so that they can spend a part of their time in scratching 
and gathering up the many seeds and grains which other- 
wise would not be utilized. The house should be located 
upon soil which is well drained and dry. A gravelly knoll 
is best, but failing this, the site should be raised by the 
use of the plow and scraper until there is a gentle slope 
in all directions to prevent any standing water even at 
the wettest times. A few inches of sand or gravel on the 
surface will be very useful in preventing the formation 
of mud. If the house is sheltered from the north and 
northwest winds by a group of evergreens this will be a 
decided advantage in the colder parts of the country. 

A poultry house should be tight enough to exclude 
draughts, dry and well lighted. It has been demonstrated 
that "heavy muslin is rather better than glass in the win- 
dows and many poultry houses are now made with a large 
portion of the south side of muslin. The front of the 
poultry house should face the south. 

The roosts may be made of two by three inch scantling 
and should be so put in that they can be easily rcTnoved 
at any time for cleaning and disinfection. A platform is 



POULTRY. 



117 



often placed under the roosts to catch the droppings and 
the nests are often placed under this" platform. 

Nests. — The simplest form of nest is a box placed upon 
the floor of the poultry house. With heavy fowls, which 
are apt to break their eggs in fighting away other hens 
that try to enter their nests when they are laying and 
thus acquire the habit of egg-eating, a more concealed or 
dark nest may be necessary. This may be secured by 
making enclosed boxes with the opening away from the 
windows. 




Small, economical poultry house with open sheds. 

Floor. — One of the most troublesome parts of a poultry 
house to make satisfactory is the floor. A double flooring, 
laid tightly with building paper between, or a good single 
flooring covered with a few inches of dry earth is probably 
the best. In all cases of board floors there should be suf- 
ficient space beneath for ventilation and to guard against 
the lodgement of rats. 

Good Plans. — A good style of poultry house, where more 
than one flock is to be kept, is the plan shown in the above- 
cut. This has been found satisfactory and may be multi- 
plied to any extent by adding to the ends. With such 
houses there may be fenced runs at the back or front, or 
on both sides, so that the birds may be kept confined. 

Coops. — A liberal supply of coops should be provided 
for the confinement of hens with broods of small chicks,. 

GROUND PLP.H. 



000R 




OPCW 

SHED 
DOOR DOCK. 



ttOOOH 



WINDOW. WINOOK 

Ground plan of above. 

and for those hens which insist upon sitting at inconvenient 
times. A few days in solitary retirement will usually break 



118 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

up the desire to sit, and the hen will soon after resume 
laying. 

The common A-shaped coop is one of the most easily 
constructed and convenient forms in use. The one disad- 
vantage connected with it is the difficulty of removing the 
feeding and drinking vessels for cleaning or of catching 
a bird in it without danger of some of the birds escaping. 
To obviate this, one of the slats may be made to slide. 
The opening made by sliding this slat is sufficient to admit 
the hand and arm so that any part of the coop may be 
reached without danger of letting the hen out. 

Ranging of Fowls. — Poultry may be raised with the 
greatest economy on large farms of the country, where 
there is unlimited range, an inexhaustible supply of insects 
and worms, and an abundance of seeds and grains going 
to waste which poultry alone can utilize. When fenced 
away from the gardens and flower beds, fowls do little 
damage and cause scarcely any annoyance on the farm. 
On the other hand, they do an immense amount of good 
in the protection of crops by the destruction of injurious 
insects and larva and worms. 

Value of Fowls. — Where care can be given poultry it 
is always best to secure standard-bred fowls for breeding 
purposes, by obtaining eggs for hatching of a reliable 
breeder. Following is a list of the standard breeds with 
their characteristics: 

Plymouth Rocks. — The Plymouth Rock is the most 
popular of all varieties of poultry as a general purpose 
fowl. Its medium size, hardy growth, and good laying 
qualities make it a practical fowl for the farm. 

The most common, or barred variety, is of medium 
size, well proportioned, with a deep, full breast, making 
a most admirable bird for market purposes. They are 
hardy, mature early, and make excellent broilers from 
eight to twelve weeks old. They are good layers the year 
round, and in winter they lay exceptionally well. Their 
eggs are brown in color and average eight to a pound. 

Wyandottes. — The Wyandotte is another of the general- 
purpose fowls and is rated next to the Plymouth Rock. 
They are of medium size, weighing on an average of a 
pound less than the Plymouth Rocks, hardy of constitu- 
tion, and prolific layers. They are easily cared for and 
bear confinement well. For table purposes they are of 
superior worth ; their flesh is sweet, juicy and tender, mak- 
ing excellent broilers and roasters. As layers, they are 



POULTRY. 119 

among the best, averaging from twelve to fourteen dozens 
a year, and as winter layers, they do well under ordinary 
circumstances. 

The standard weight of cocks is 8% pounds; hens, 6% 
pounds; cockerels, 7% pounds; and pullets, 5% pounds. 

American Dominiques. — This is the oldest of the Ameri- 
can class. It is of the color of the Barred Plymouth Rock 
and about the size of the Wyandotte. It is a hardy and 
prolific breed which is not given the attention it deserves. 

Javas. — This variety is the next oldest of the American 
class, and at one time was considered the most profitable 
of all breeds. At present Javas are not raised extensively; 
the more modern or newer breeds have seemingly sup- 
planted them in popularity. There is no reason why this 
should be so, as they are practical and good general-pur- 
pose fowls. In size they are about like the Plymouth 
Rocks, but differ in general symmetry and appearance. 
They are good layers and do well in winter, and for table 
purposes they make nice eating. They mature early, and 
are good sitters and mothers, and are easily kept in con- 
finement. 

The standard weight of cocks is 9% pounds; hens, 7 1 /& 
pounds; cockerels, 8 pounds, and pullets, 6^ pounds. 

Brahmas. — The leading variety of the Asiatic class is 
the Light Brahma. They are valuable birds for the farm; 
are the largest of domestic poultry and do as well in con- 
finement in small runs as on free range. As layers they 
will average from twelve to thirteen dozen eggs a year, 
and lay exceptionally well in winter. Their eggs are large, 
about seven to a pound, of a rich brown color, and excel- 
lent flavor. For table purposes the birds are good; they 
do not mature as early as do the varieties of the Ameri- 
can class, yet they are hardy, and can be raised with as 
much ease as any of the earlier maturing varieties. As 
setters and mothers they are fair. 

The Dark Brahmas are not so popular as the Light — 
the difficulty being in breeding them true to feather; and 
for practical purposes they are not to be commended as 
highly as the Light. 

The standard weight of Light Brahma cocks is 12 
pounds; hens, 9% pounds; cockerels, 10 pounds, and pul- 
lets, 8 pounds. The standard weight of Dark Brahma 
cocks is 11 pounds; hens, 8% pounds; cockerels, 9 pounds, 
and pullets, 7 pounds. 

Cochins. — The four varieties of Cochins are not very 
popular with breeders. They are second to the Brahmas 



120 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

in the meat breeds, weighing but a pound lighter than the 
Light Brahma. 

The Buff variety is most generally bred; the Partridge 
Cochin being a beautiful fowl, yet difficult to breed, and in 
plumage is much after the pattern of the Dark Brahma, 
the color being red and brown instead of the steel-gray 
effect of the latter. 

Black Cochins are much more easily raised than are 
either of the varieties thus far described. A one-colored 
bird is the more practical bird for the farmer and market 
poulterer. The Black Cochin is of a rich, glossy, black 
plumage throughout. The White Cochin is pure white in 
plumage. 

The standard weight of Buff, Partridge, and White 
Cochin cocks is 11 pounds; hens, 8% pounds; cockerels, 9 
pounds, and pullets, 7 pounds. Black Cochins are of the 
same weight, excepting cocks, which should weigh 10% 
pounds. 

Langshans. — Langshans are practical in more senses than 
one, and their prolific laying and other excellent qualities 
make them profitable for the farmer and market poultry- 
man. The shape of the Langshan is distinct from that of 
the Brahma or Cochin, and should not be confused with 
either of the last named breeds. The quality of the flesh 
of the Langshans is excellent, being fine grained, tender, 
and nicely flavored. As layers they rank among the best, 
averaging from twelve to thirteen dozen a year, and -as 
winter layers they are to be recommended. 

There are two varieties of Langshans — the Black and 
the White. The Black in plumage of neck, back, saddle, 
sickles, a glossy metallic black with greenish sheen; breast, 
primaries, secondaries, tail, fluff, shank, and toe feathers, 
black. The undercolor is black or dark slate. The White 
Langshan is pure white throughout. 

The standard weight of cocks for both varieties is 10 
pounds; hens, 7 pounds; cockerels, 8 pounds, and pullets, 
6 pounds. 

Leghorns. — The Leghorn fowl holds the same place 
among the poultry that the Jersey holds among cattle. 
Leghorns are lively, active, and of a restless disposition, 
the best of foragers, and will pick up a good part of their 
living during the year. They are light eaters, and the cost 
of raising them to maturity is about two-thirds that of 
the Asiatic varieties. They mature early, feather quickly, 
the pullets sometimes begin laying when four months old, 
and cockerels crow at the same age. They are the best 



POULTRY. 121 

layers, averaging between 150 to 200 eggs per year. Their 
eggs are pure white in color, and weigh about 8 to the 
pound. As table fowls they are fairly good, but rather 
small in size. Altogether, they are one of the most profit- 
able breeds of poultry that can be kept upon the farm, and 
the cheapness of their keeping will allow the raising of 
two Leghorns for the cost of one Asiatic. 

There are six varieties of Leghorns: Black, Brown,. 
Buff, Dominique, Silver Duckwing, and White. The Brown 
and White are bred with both single and rose combs. 

There is no standard weight given for Leghorns. 

Minorcas. — The Minorcas are good for table purposes, 
their flesh being white or light-colored, and fine grained. 
Their chief advantage is their egg production. They are 
non-sitters and year-around layers. As winter layers they 
are exceptionally good when kept under favorable circum- 
stances. While the Leghorn surpasses them in the number 
of eggs laid, the Minorcas' eggs are larger, frequently 
weighing 30 ounces to the dozen, and equal the output in 
bulk. 

The standard weight of a Minorca cock is 8 pounds; 
hens, 6^ pounds; cockerels, 6% pounds, and pullets, 5% 
pounds. 

Black Spanish. — White-faced Black Spanish have long 
been favorably known for their exceptionally fine laying 
qualities. The pullets are early layers, averaging from 
150 to 180 eggs per year; the hens begin somewhat later,, 
after molting, but compensate for any loss in number by 
the increased size of the eggs. Hens and pullets alike are 
well above the average for winter laying. 

No standard weight is given for Black Spanish; they 
are between the Leghorns and Minorcas in size. 

Hamburgs. — Hamburgs are in front rank of egg pro- 
ducers and are in general shape much like the Leghorns. 
There are six varieties of Hamburgs: The Golden- spangled,. 
Golden-penciled, Silver-spangled, Silver-penciled, Black and 
White. They are all handsome birds, and seldom fail 
to prove attractive and profitable to the average breeder 
and fancier. Hamburgs are ^economical fowls to keep; 
besides being light eaters, and great foragers, they are 
prolific layers and non- sitters. The only thing against 
them is the smallness of their eggs. They lay a pretty, 
white-shelled egg, but smaller in size than those of the 
Leghorn. They rarely lay in winter. 

No standard weight is given for Hamburgs. 



122 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Houdans. — The Houdans are hardy and prolific layers 
of large, white eggs. For table purposes thev are among 
the best fowls. They have small bones, and the flesh is 
tender and delicious. The chicks are sprightly, active and 
feather rapidly. They are non-sitters and light feeders; 
like the Leghorns, they may be fed at small cost as com- 
pared with some of the larger breeds. 

The standard weight of cocks is 7 pounds; hens, 6 
pounds; cockerels, 6 pounds, and pullets, 5 pounds. 

Orpingtons. — This breed, which originated in England 
a few years ago, is attracting a great deal of attention. 
They come in Black, White. Buff, Spangled and Jubilee 
varieties. The Spangled are black and white and the Jubi- 
lees have every feather black, white and red, a very curious 
combination. They are plump and round of body, weighing 
a pound more than Plymouth Rocks. They are very good 
layers of large eggs and excellent table fowls. The skin 
of all varieties except the Blacks is white. All varieties 
come with both single and rose combs. They are increasing 
very rapidly in this country. 

TURKEYS: 

There is no other kind of live stock that will return 
so large a profit to the successful producer as will poultry, 
and no kind of poultry is more profitable than turkeys 
when properly handled. They may be termed self-sustain- 
ing foragers where they have sufficient range. 

Varieties. — Six standard varieties of turkeys are more 
or less grown in this country, viz.: Bronze, Naragansett, 
Buff, Slate, White, and Black. The main differences are 
in size and color of plumage. The Bronze and Narra- 
gansetts are the largest, the Buff and Slate the medium, 
and the Black and White the smallest. 

Egg Laying. — The hen turkey will begin laying from 
the middle of March to the first of April, or earlier in the 
warmer localities. 

Hatching. — They produce such a limited number of eggs 
that it is scarcely necessary to bring into use the incu- 
bator for their hatching, as the lions themselves can hatch 
all they lay. Chicken bens brood the poults quite as well 
as the turkey hens up to a certain aire, at which time the 
poults begin to wander. If other broods of poults are with 
turkey hens, those with the chicken hen will usually leave 
their foster mother and wander away with a flock of 
turkeys, and stay with them. 



TURKEYS. 123 

Whether the eggs are hatched by turkey heri9 or chicken 
hens, equal caution should be used to prevent the possibility 
of insect parasites of any kind being in or about the nest 
or upon the body of the hen. After the poults have begun 
to grow, they must be watched continually to guard against 
the presence of lice. 

It takes twenty-seven to twenty-nine days for turkey 
eggs to hatch. Those that are perfectly fresh will hatch 
a few hours sooner than those that have been kept a 
week or longer before placing them under the hens. 

An open coop, made of slats or lath, may be placed 
over the mother turkey just prior to the hatching of her 
eggs, as this will prevent her wandering away with her 
young when they are hatched. Prior to using old coops, 
paint them thoroughly with crude petroleum in which 
have dissolved some napthalene balls, filling every crack 
and crevice with this at least a week before they are 
needed, and be sure that the odor of the preparation has 
disappeared before using the coops, as it is not beneficial to 
the young. The features of most importance in cooping 
the mother and young are plenty of light and room, and 
freedom from dampness and insect parasites. 

When the poults are ready to leave the nest, move the 
mother hen and her young into the coop provided for them; 
supply a little food now and then as they need it, and see 
that the mother has plenty of food and water. Let them 
alone in the coop till they begin to move about. As soon 
as they will, let the poults run out on the grass when it 
is dry, but keep them from the wet grass, as nothing is more 
detrimental to their growth unless it be insect parasites. As 
they advance give them a more plentiful food supply, and 
guard against any possibility of lice infesting them. 

The young poults should be given for their first meal 
very fine oatmeal or finely cracked wheat or corn, with a 
little fine grit of some kind, and very little granulated 
meat scrap. Some of the commercial brand of "poultry 
food" are also good. They should have clean water con- 
venient where they can help themselves at will. 

As a general rule do not feed them wet food or slops. 
Poults are seed-eating chicks, not slop eaters. Soak stale 
bread in sweet milk, press out the milk as completely as 
possible, and feed the bread to the young poults. Be care- 
ful never to use sour milk, nor should the bread thus pre- 
pared ever be fed after it has become sour. Feed this, a 
little at a time, every hour or two for two days or more; 
then add a little hardboiled egg, shell and all broken fine. 
to the soaked bread. 



124 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

After a day or two on this ration, follow with a ration 
•of finely broken grain as already described, and include 
a little finely cut meat. Lean beef, well cooked and cut into 
very small fragments, is good. Plenty of grit of some 
kind is a necessity, for without it the poults cannot grind 
their food. 

Bowel trouble and indigestion may be prevented so far 
as possible by the feeding of finely broken charcoal, which 
is a safeguard against fermentation in the crop or gizzard, 
thus aiding digestion. 

Poults should be taught to feed by taking the food be- 
tween the fingers and thumb, patiently holding it to the 
beak of the young turkey, and try to induce it to eat. This 
method of feeding tames and quiets the young poults, 
gives them a good start and prevents the possible contami- 
nation of the food by being thrown on the ground. 

After three weeks, the poults may have whole wheat, 
hulled oats, cracked corn, and a little millet seed, in addi- 
tion to their other food. 

One of the most successful growers in the country feeds 
the young poults at the start oatmeal, broken wheat, and 
finely cracked corn; as they grow older, whole wheat, hulled 
oats, and coarser cracked corn, and still later, whole grains 
of corn. When running at large, they are taught to come 
close to barns twice a day for food. Following these and 
similar methods enabled him to bring to maturity, during 
the unfavorable season of 1903, over 300 white turkeys out 
of about 335 that were hatched. 

As soon as the weather begins to turn cold and insect 
food becomes scarce, a ration of wheat and corn should be 
provided for the growing turkeys. Keep them growing from 
start to finish, and have them ready for the Thanksgiving 
market, when prices are usually the best. This may be 
accomplished quite easily with all the early broods, pro- 
vided they are properly and liberally fed as the fall weather 
begins to remove their natural food supply of worms, 
bugs, seeds, and herbs of all kinds. 

DUCKS: 

Of all kinds for farm and practical purposes, the White 
Pekin stands the highest. This breed is valuable for rais- 
ing on a large scale, and is the most easily raised of any. 
It is a very timid bird and must be handled quite carefully. 

In size the ducks are very large, some reaching as high 
as 20 pounds to the pair. Their flesh is very delicate and 
free from grossness, and they are considered among the 



DUCKS. 125 

best of table fowls. They are excellent layers, averaging 
from 100 to 130 eggs each in a season. They are non-sit- 
ters, hardy, easily raised, and the earliest in maturing of 
any ducks. 

The standard weight of the adult drake is 8 pounds; 
adult duck, 7 pounds; young drake, 7 pounds, and young 
duck, 6 pounds. 

White Aylesbury. — These ducks are second to the popular 
White Pekins for market purposes, and are bred in large 
numbers in England and Europe. They are of large size, 
pairs occasionally reaching the weight of 18 pounds, the 
male birds weighing 9 or 10 pounds and the females 7 or 8 
pounds. Birds weighing 15 to 16 pounds to the pair are 
the average. 

Rouen. — The Rouen duck is a fine market bird, but doea 
not mature as early as does the Pekin or the Aylesbury. 
The flesh is considered very delicate, and the breed i3 
acknowledged to be superior for table purposes, being 
«asily fattened. 

The standard weight of the adult drake is 9 pounds; 
adult duck, 8 pounds; young drake, 8 pounds, and young 
duck, 7 pounds. 

Black Cayuga Duck. — The Black Cayuga is distinctly 
an American duck. It is not, however, much raised. 

The standard weight of the adult drake is 8 pounds; 
adult duck, 7 pounds; young drake, 7 pounds and young 
duck, 6 pounds. 

Muscovy Ducks. — These ducks are very unsatisfactory 
birds to keep on the farm with other poultry, owing to 
their quarrelsome and pugnacious natures. When bred 
they must be kept in a yard by themselves, and their 
wings must be clipped to keep them from flying. 

The standard weight of the adult drake is 10 pounds; 
adult duck, 8 pounds; young drake, 8 pounds, and young 
duck, 7 pounds. 

Gray and White Call Ducks. — Call ducks are bantams, 
and are bred more for the fancy than for profit. Their 
uses are only for the show room, or as decoy ducks for 
wild duck shooting. For the latter purposes they are 
sometimes crossed with the common "puddle duck" or with 
the wild Mallard. This latter cross is considered excellent, 
the progeny being distinguished for tameness and domes- 
ticity. No standard weight is given for Call ducks. 

Black East Indian Ducks. — Another standard breed 
liardly considered a rival of the Pekin, Aylesbury, Cayuga 



126 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

or Rouen. This duck bears the same relation to those just 
named as does the bantam to the larger varieties of chickens. 
There is no standard weight given for Black East Indians; 
the smaller their size the higher they rank for exhibition 
purposes. 

What is said below of geese applies also to ducks, ex- 
cepting that where large numbers are kept for supplying 
eggs for incubators the Pekin variety is usually preferred, 
and can be kept without ponds if an abundance of drinking 
water is provided. Ducks will become lame if their quar- 
ters are damp. Cut straw, litter, or chaff may be used on 
the floors. When laying they should be fed twice a day 
as much as they will eat, as suggested for geese, but green 
food must also be given. When not laying they should 
be turned out to consume grass, having a meal only at 
night. Animal food is essential for geese and ducks. 

Ducklings are fed entirely on soft food, consisting of 
cooked turnips, thickened with cornmeal, ground meat, bran, 
and sifted oatmeal, not too wet, four times a day. Clean- 
liness is essential with them, and it is a matter of dispute 
as to whether more than enough water to drink or not. A 
duckling of the Pekin variety should weigh at least 4 
pounds when ten weeks old. 

One drake and six ducks make a pen. Ducks will lay 
over 100 eggs each, beginning in January and February 
and finishing in a few months. Pekin ducklings sometimes 
weigh 5 pounds when ten weeks old, but such weights are 
exceptional. 

GEESE: 

Geese require almost no care, but should have dry quar- 
ters. Geese are fond of pasture, on which they will 
thrive. In winter one good meal a day, as much as they 
will eat, of cooked potatoes or turnips, with cut clover, 
ground oats, and ground meat added, will be sufficient. 

Goslings should be fed three times a day the first week 
and twice daily thereafter until two or three weeks old,, 
when they can help themselves on the pasture if given a 
light meal at night. Keep goslings from ponds until well 
feathered, but keep drinking water within reach. As a 
rule, geese instead of hens are allowed to hatch out the 
goslings. The young geese only should be sold, as the old 
ones will perform service for many years. 



PIGEONS. BEEKEEPING. 127 

PIGEONS: 

Grown on a large scale for their young which are 
marketed as squabs. Young birds are marketed at from 
25 to 28 days of age. 

RABBITS: 

Commonly known through its habit of gnawing the bark 
of fruit trees in winter. Besides this the "Belgian hare 
craze" was but a short time ago very common throughout 
the country. This interest is now dying out, there being 
little or no market for the meat of the animals, though it 
is excellent for cooking. 

BEEKEEPING: 

Almost any one can learn to manipulate bees. With 
extracted honey of good quality at its present wholesale 
price of 6 to 8 cents per pound and comb honey at 12 to 
14 cents, each hive should, under favorable circumstances, 
give a gross annual return of $2.50 to $3. From this about 
one-third is to be deducted to cover expenses other than 
the item of labor; this will include the purchase of comb 
foundations, repairs, eventually replacing of hives and im- 
plements and the interest on the capital invested. 

Stings can be avoided (1) by having gentle bees. Of 
the races already in general cultivation Carniolans are the 
gentlest, along with Caucasians, more recently introduced 
from southeastern Russia and only now being put on sale 
(1905), are by far the least inclined to sting of any bees 
and may be handled at all times withoul resorting to the 
protection of a bee veil, and generally without smoking. 
In ease these gentler races are not easily procurable the 
manipulation of pure Italians is recommended. To avoid 
stings have a good smoker at hand whenever bees are to 
be handled. Use the modern bellows smoker. A veil and 
gloves may be used at first. The gloves will probably be 
discarded n soon as the bees are much handled and the 
veil may be dispensed with if the gentlest bees are kept. 

Hives.— The suspended Langstroth frame is commonly 
used. Factory-made hives put up by experts as a rule 
are the best. Another hive of quite different construction 
from the Langstroth is the Quinby closed-frame hive; used 
with great success by certain American beekeepers of long 
experience. 

Natural Swarming. — When swarming takes place the 
bees will probably gather in a clump on a tree or bush near 



128 THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

by and it will then be a simple matter to shake them into 
a new hive or basket or box. If they are poured out before 
an unoccupied hive shaded and well ventilated the bees 
are almost certain to take possession at once and begin 
work actively. The swarm may be made to hive itself 
by clipping one wing of each laying queen so as to prevent 
her flying; when the bees start to swarm she will fall and 
may be secured in a cage, when the bees will return, the 
attendant having replaced the abandoned hive by an empty 
one which the bees will enter and the queen may be al- 
lowed to go in with them. 

Artificial Swarming. — Where an increase of colonies is 
desired and in case no one can be near the apairy to caie 
for natural swarming with clipped queens, some of the ar- 
tificial methods of forming a new colony may be employed, 
though natural swarming is to be preferred. There are 
three principal methods of artificial swarming: (1), divid- 
ing; (2), the Nucleus system, and (3), shaken or brushed 
swarms. The second is considered the best plan. From a 
populous colony enough bees and combs are taken to make 
a fair nucleus for a new stand; a queen is introduced 
into this nucleus or a queeen cell and is readily accepted a 
day or two later. As soon as the young queen has begun 
egg- laying, combs of emerging brood may be added from 
time to time; these may be obtained from any populous, 
colony. Good wintering, the presence of a prolific queen 
with abundant stories for brood rearing with the preven- 
tion of swarming are the conditions necessary to bring a 
colony of bees to producing a goodly amount of honey. 

Extracted Honey.— To secure extracted honey the requi- 
site number of combs may be in one long hive or in stories 
above another. Additional stories are added when the sup- 
plies of combs already occupied by the bees are filled. 
Before removing combs time should be allowed the bees to 
ripen and cap the honey. The honey in combs that are 
quite or nearly sealed over may be considered sufficiently 
ripened to be removed from the hive. The cells are un- 
capped by means of a sharp knife made fo rthis purpose, 
and the combs are then made to revolve rapidly in a honev 
extractor. Extracted honey is run into open buckets and 
left covered with cheese cloth to stand a week or so, beinrr 
skimmed any day when it is ready for marketing. 

Comb Honey. — The difference to be observed in prepar- 
ing colonies for the production of comb honey instead of 
extracted is in the adjustment of the brood apartment at 
the time the supers are added. Before comb honey is 



BEEKEEPING. 129 

marketed it should be carefully crated and all propolis 
scraped from each of the sections. It is impossible to 
manufacture comb honey. 

Wintering Bees. — To bring bees successfully through 
the winter in the colder sections is a problem which gives 
anxiety to all who are about to attempt it for the first 
time, and even to those who have kept bees for years. 

Points to Be Noted. — Whatever method be followed in 
wintering, certain conditions regarding the colony itself 
are plainly essential: First, it should have a good queen; 
second, a fair-sized cluster of healthy bees, neither too old 
nor too young; third, a plentiful supply of good food. The 
first of these conditions may be counted as fulfilled if the 
queen at the head of the colony is not more than two years 
old, is still active, and has always kept her colony popu- 
lous;- yet a younger queen — even one of the current season's 
rearing, and thus but a few weeks or months old — is if 
raised under favorable conditions, much to be preferred. 
The second point is met if brood rearing has been continued 
without serious interruption during the latter part of the 
summer and the cluster of bees occupies, on a cool day in 
autumn, six to eight more spaces between the combs, or 
forms a compact cluster 8 or 10 inches in diameter. Young 
bees, if not well protected by older ones, succumb readily 
to the cold, while quite old bees die early in the spring, 
and others, which emerged late in the summer or autumn 
preceding, are needed to replace them. The third essential 
— -good food — is secured if the hive is liberally supplied 
with well -ripened honey from any source whatever, or with 
fairly thick syrup, made from white cane sugar, which was 
fed early enough to enable the bees to seal it over before 
they ceased flying. The syrup is prepared by dissolving 
3 pounds of granulated sugar in 1 quart of boiling water 
and adding to this 1 pound of pure extracted noney. Twenty 
to 25 pounds for outdoor wintering in the south, up to 
30 or 40 pounds in the north, when wintered outside with 
but slight protection — or, if wintered indoors, about 20 
pounds — may be considered a fair supply of winter food. A 
smaller amount should not be trusted except in case much 
greater protection be furnished against the effects of severe 
weather than is usually given. A greater amount of stores 
will do no harm if properly arranged over and about the 
center of the cluster, or, in case the combs are narrow, 
wholly above the cluster. In many instances it will be 
a benefit by equalizing in a measure the temperature in the 
hive, as well as by giving to the bees greater confidence in 
extending the brood nest in early spring. 



PART V. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINE: 

When it is necessary to give drugs to animals they may 
be administered in the following ways: ( 1) , by the mouth; 
(2), by injection into the tissues beneath the skin; (3), by 
rubbing into the skin; (4), by the air passages and lungs 
and (5), by the rectum. 

Drenching. — This is the most common method of admin- 
istration, though drugs should be administered with the 
feed or drinking water. In drenching horses a heavy long- 
necked glass bottle is to be used, a bridle being put on the 
head of the horse instead of a halter. A small rope is fas- 
tened to the ring on each side of the bit so as to elevate 
the head. If the horse refuses to swallow, drop a table- 
spoonful of water in the nostril, when the horse will be 
obliged to swallow. Cattle and sheep are easily drenched. 

Balls.— Drugs which are not soluble may be given in 
balls made of syrup honey and linseed meal formed into 
a cylinder about three-quarters of an inch in diameter and 
a few inches in length and wrapped in tissue paper. The 
ball is held between the ends of the first finger and thumb, 
the tongue being pulled out as far as possible and held to 
one side with the left hand; the ball being placed on the 
tongue is quickly reelased and the head elevated. 

In giving r hypodermic injection the side of the neck 
or shoulder is the point for inserting the needle. The needle 
and syringe should be thoroughly sterilized. 

Liniments, plasters and poultices applied for local 
effect are common, drugs not being absorbed through the 
unbroken skin. Chloroform is occasionally administered 
in veterinary surgery. When the animal cannot be drenched 
medicine may v be administered by the rectum. A fluid 
injection is used for different purposes as to hasten the 
action of a purgative, to kill an intestinal parasite and 
occasionally to supply food. 

Dose. — The doses given in the table on page 135 are for 
adult animals; for a colt a year old about one-third the 
quantity is given; two years, one-half; three-year-olds, 
two-thirds. 

(130) 



INSECTIDES. 131 

Bot Flies. — These are very important because the larva 
is a parasite in different species of domestic animals. These 
flies may be seen about animals depositing their eggs in 
places where they can readily gain access to the proper 
part. It is transfered to the stomach of the animal by 
the mouth and fixes itself on the walls of that organ and 
when hatched and fully developed loosens its hold. 

Unless there are a large number in the stomach they 
are not very harmful, being injurious only to old and 
poorly cared for or young horses by irritating the stomach 
and causing irritation of the intestinal canal. The treat- 
ment is principally preventive, consisting of destroying the 
eggs by washing the infested parts with a 2 or 3 per cent 
solution of carbolic acid or by bathing slightly with kero- 
sene. 

INSECTIDES: 

Arsenical Poisons for Biting Insects. — Paris green, Lon- 
don Purple, Scheele's Green, Paragrene and Green arse- 
noid are all arsenic poisons of the same general character. 
Paris green is made of arsenic, copper and acetic acid; 
Scheele's green is similar, but contains no acetic acid, is 
more easily applied, and, like Paragrene remains in sus- 
pension longer; London purple and Paragrene need more 
lime added to prevent foliage burns. 

For Spraying. — Make a thin paste of the poison used 
by adding a small portion of it to a small quantity of 
water, afterward adding an equal amount of slaked lime. 
Strain this into a spray tank, and add water in the pro- 
portion of 100 to 300 gallons to each pound of poison. 
Apply the stronger mixtures to foliage which is not easily 
damaged, such as the potato. For the apple, use 150 gal- 
lons to each pound of poison. 

For Dry Use. — For vegetables soon to be used as food 
mix poison with 100 times its weight of plaster of Paris, 
flour or lime, and apply lightly. Dust garden crops with 
poison from a bellows or bag. For low field crops, place in 
bags hung at the end of a pole and carry through field on 
horse back. 

Combined Mixture. — (Bordeaux with Paris green or 
other arsenite.) — Prepare Bordeaux mixture in the usual 
way and add to it the poison to be used. In this com- 
bination Bordeaux mixture takes the place of water in 
the Paris green and other arsenical solutions. A recipe for 
Bordeaux mixture will be found on page 46. 



132 



THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 
PLANTING TABLE 



NAME 


Rows* 


Rows or 
Drills * 


Quantity per 
Acre 












15 

Drilled 

Broadcast 


36 


















2 bu. 






26 to 30 
26 to 30 


S to 4 pecks, 
2 to 3 pecks. 












In Drills 
In Drills 


26 to 30 
26 to 30 














In Drills 
Alone 
Alone 
42 to 48 
In Drills 
Broadcast 










7 lbs. 






10 lbs. 




42 to 48 
30 to 36 


8 lbs. 




2 to 3 pecks. 






26 to 30 


2 to 3 pecks. 
4 to 6 pecks. 








Drilled 

Broadcast 

Drilled 

Alone 






i 














SO lbs. 






45 lbs. 
















































3611.8. 








6 lbs. 






36 to 40 


7 to 10 lbs. 














2 lbs. 




Drilled 
Drilled 
Drilled 

Broadcast 
Drilled 

Broadcast 
Drilled 

Broadcast 




4 to 6 pecks. 


Millet 








4 to 5 pecks. 






6 pecks, 












8 pecks. 






8 peeks. 






10 pecks. 






2 to 3 bu. 








3 bu. 




10 to 18 
96 


30 to 36 
96 


6 to 10 bu. 




5 lbs. 




5 lbs. 




In Drills 

Drilled 

Broadcast 


28 to 30 


2 lbs. 




4 pecks. 












6 pecks. 




Drilled 
Broad cavt 

In Drills 
Broadcast 




7f> to 100 lbs. 






100 to 125 lbs. 




28 to 30 


2 lbs. 




4 lbs. 






1 bu. 




Drilled 
Broadcast 




4 to 5 pecks. 






5 to 6 pecks. 


" and Hairy Vetch, for forage 













* Distance apart in Iiiculs. 



TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 
PROPAGATION AND PLANTING TABLE 



133 



Apple 

Apple, dwarf.. 

Apricot 

Almond 

Blackberry . . . 

Cherry, sour.. 
Cherry, sweet 



Cranberry 

Currant 

Fig 

Gooseberry . . . 
Grape 

Mulberry 

Nectarine 

Orange 

Orange, dwarf 



Peach 

Pear, standard.. 
Pear, dwarf 

Pecan 

Persimmon, Jap 

Plum 



AVERAGE 

Planting 
Distance 



Quince . 



Raspberry, black 
Raspberry, red. . 
Strawberry 



33 to 40 feet.. ) 
10 to 15 " . . ( 



20 to 21 " ... 
4x7 to 6x9 ft. . 



16 to 20 feet.. 
20 to 30 " .. 



lor 2 " 
4x6 " 

20 to 40 " 

6x8 " 

6x8 to 8x12 ft 

25 to 30 feet.. 



13 to 20 feet... 
18 to 30 " .. ) 
10 to 12 " ..] 



20 feet 

20 to 25 feet 



Sx6 to 5x8 ft. 
3x6 to 5x8 " . 
1x3 to 3x1 " . 



How Multiplied 



Seeds, budded or graft- 
ed seedlings 

See peach 

Seedlings, budding 

Suckers, roof-cuttings, 
tip layering 

Seedlings, budded 

Layering 

Cuttings, layering 

Hard or soft wood cut- 
tings 

Cuttings , layering 

Hardwood cuttings, 
lay erlngs. . % 

Budded seedlings, hard 
wood cuttings 

Seedlings, budding 

Seeds, budded or graft- 
ed, seedlings 

A Florida plan Is to 
bud cuttings from Jjf 
to %, inch in diameter 
and 12 Inches long, 
place In box and cov- 
er litrlitly with earth. 
Cuttings from roots 
transplanted. 

Seeds, budded seedlings 

Seeds, budded or graft- 
ed seedlings 

Seedlings 

Budded or grafted 
seedlings 

Seeds, budded seed- 
lings ; also root-graft- 
ing or top-grafting. . . 



Cuttings, grafted . 



Layering 

Suckers, root cuttings. 
Runners 



Stocks 
Commonly Used 



Seedlings, Doucin, crab 
or wild crab; for 
dwarfs,Paradise stock 

Apricot in deep, rich 
soil ; plum in cold reg- 
ions, peach in mild. 

Peach, plum, hardshell 
almond. 



Seedllngs,Mazzard st'ks, 
Mahalebforsweetand 
dwarf sorts; Morello 
seedlings and wild pin 
cherry for hardy stk. 



Downingstockin South, 
Russian seedlings for 
ornamental sorts. 



Seedlings. 



Seedlings, plum stocks 
for damp soils and for 
dwarfs. 

Seedlings, quince for 
dwarfs. 



Native Persimmon. 



Myrabolan seedlings, 
Chickasaw seedlings, 
peach. 

Seedlings, fine varieties 
grafted on Angers 
stock,sometimes root- 
grafted on apple but 
when scion has root- 
ed, apple root should 
be cut away. 



134 



THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 









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THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 
MEDICINES FOR THE HORSE 



135 



Name of Drug 



Aloes 
Alum 
Anise Seed 
Aqua Ammonia 

Arsenic 
Asafcetlda 
Bicarbonate of ") 
Potash J 

Bismuth 

Black Antimony 

Blue Vitriol 
Calomel 
Camphor 
Cantbarldes 
Carbolic Acid 
Castor Oil 
Cayenne 

Chlorate of Potash 
Copperas 
Croton OH 
Digitalis Leaf 
Epsom Salts 
Either 

Fowler's Solution 
Gentian Root 

Ginger 

Glauber's Salts 

Iodide of Potas- ) 
Blum )' 

Linseed Oil, Raw 
Magnesia 
Mercurial Olntm't 
Nux Vomica 

Opium 

Prepared Chalk 
Quinine 

Saltpetre 
Soda Bicarb 
Soda Sulphite 
Solution of Lime 
Sp'tsof Chlorofor'e 
Strychnia 
Bulphur 

Sweet Sp'ts Nitre 
Tannic Acid 
Tartar Emetic 
Tin. Aconite Root 
tin. Cantharides 
Tincture Ergot 
Tincture Iodine 

Tincture Iron 

Tr. Nux Vomica 
Tincture Opium 
White Vitriol 



Action and Usb 



( IMur 
-{For 
( Enla 



Laxative and Tonic 

Astringent 

Aromatic and Stomachic 

Stimulant and Antacid 
( Alterative and Tonic. For ) 
I Paralysis, Mange, etc. ) 

Anti-spasmodic, Coughs, etc. 
( Diuretic and Antacid. For I 
( Rheumatism. J 

For Chronic Diarrhoea, etc. 

Promotes the Secretions 

Astringent and Tonic 

Cathartic 

Antl spasmodic 

Diuretic and Stimulant 

Externally and Disinfectant 

Cathartic 

Stimulant and Carminative 

Diuretic. For Bloating, ect. 

Tonic and Astringent 

Powerful Purgative 

Sedative and Diuretic 

Cathartic and Febrifuge 

Anti-spasmodic 

Used for Skin Diseases 

Tonic 
( Tonic, Stimulant & Stom- j 

■j achlc. For Flatulent Colic, > 
( Dyspepsia, etc. ) 

Cathartic 
Diuretic and Alterative. ) 
Rheumatism, Dropsy, V 
larged Glands, etc. J 

Cathartic and Nutritive 
( For colts as an Antacid ) 
| and Laxative f 

j For Mange, Itch, Lice and \ 
( other Parasites J 

( Nervous Stimulant. For ) 
j Paralysis | 

I Anodyne and Antl-spasmo- 
I die. Given In Colic, Inilam- [ 

] mation of Bowels, Dlar- 1 
I rhoea, etc. J 

Antacid 

Tonic. During Convalescence 

Diuretic and Febrifuge 

Similar to Bicarb. Potash 
( Antiseptic and Altoratlve. ) 
\ For Blood Diseases ) 

( Antacid, an antidote to ( 
I poisoning by acids ( 

Anodyne and Anti-spasmodic 
( Tonic and Stimulant. "For I 
) Paralysis j 

( Alterative and Laxative. ( 
I Skin Diseases, Rheu'tism \ 

Diuretic and Diaphoretic 

Astringent 

Sedative and Alterative 

Sedative. For Lung Fever, etc 

Stimulant and Tonlo 

Parturient 

Uaed externally 
( Tonic and Astringent. For ( 
I Tvphoid Diseases ) 

( Tonic. Stimulant in Par- / 
j alysls and Dyspepsia i 

Anodyne and Antl-spasmodlc 
( Astringent. For Wounds, | 
( Cuts and Sores, in solution i 



Dosb 



Y to i oz 

2 to 3 drs 

Y to 2 oz 
1 to 1 drs 

1 to 6 grs 

1 to 3 drs 

3 to 5 drs 

Y to 1 oz 

X to Y dr 

K to 1 dr 
10 to 10 grs 

Y to 1 dr 
3 to 6 grs. 

14 to l pt 

5 to 25 grs 

Y to 2 drs 
Y, to \Yi drs 
10 to 16 d'ps 
10 to 20 grs 

2 to 8 oz 

Y to 2 oz 

1 to i drs 

1 to 2 drs 

2 to & drs 

6 to 12ozs 

Y to YY, drs 
1 to 2 pts 

li to 1 oz 



15 to 26 grs 
Y. to 1 dr 

Y to 1 oz 

16 to 50 grs 

1 to 3 drs 
3 to 8 drs 

Y to l oz 
i to 6 ozs 
1 to 2 ozs 
X to 1 gr 

Y to 2 oz 

Y to IX oz 

20 to 40 grs 
% to Y dr 
16 to 36 d'ps 
1 to 2 drs 

1 to 2 oz 

Y to 1 oz 

2 to 1 drs 
1 to 2 ozs 
5 to 15 grs 



Vinegar 
Magnesia and oil 

j Vinegar and 
( raw Linseed oil 

( Infusion of oak 
< bark. Give also 

I Linseed oil 
Eggs, Milk, etc. 
Eggs and Milk 



Eggs, soap, gruel 



Opium 
Stimulate 



( Ilydrated Per. 
( oxide of Iron 



i Give freely 
J. starch or flour, 
( with water 



( Whites of eggs 
"I with milk 

Salarauis, fol- 
J lowed quickly 

bycoppeias.dls- 
[ solved in water 
TBelladonna, 

strong coffee, 
I brandy and am- 

Imonia. Dash on 
cold water.keep 
horse moving 
( Linseed oil 
( largely, raw 



Tannic Acid 
( Small doses of 
J Nux Vomica, 
] stlm'nts large- 
[ly.keepmov'ng 



See Nux Vomica 
See Opium 
Milk, eggs, flour 



For a colt one month, give one twenty -fourth of the full dose for an adult 
horse as given above; three months old, one-twelfth; six months old, one-sixth; 
One year old. one-third: two vears old. one-half : three vears old. three-fourths. 



136 TEE FARMER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

DATA REGARDING BREEDING 



Horse. . 

Cow . . . 

Hog 

Bheep.. 

Goat.. 

Rabbit. 

Hen 

Turkey 

Guinea. 

Duck.. 

tlooso. 

Do:?.... 

Cat . . . 



Age 
to besrln 
Breeding 



Ktol 



Duration 

of 

Heat 


Interval 

between 

Heats 


Period of 
Gestation or 
Incubation 


Return for 

Breeding after 

Parturition 


Useful 

for 

Breeding 


Days 

6-7 
2-1 
2-1 
1-2 
1-2 


Days 

21-28 
21-28 
17-28 
9-12 


Days 

337-410 

226-328 

104-127 

143-160 

118-162 

30 

21 

28 

25 

28-35 

30-35 

5.V70 

18-60 


Days 

7-10 
21-28 
35-42 
120-180 
120-180 


Years 

10-12 
10-12 

6 

6 




5-8 








S-5 








10 








10 








10 








10 








8 



















(DBSIGNBD. 
i'wBITTEN U Ae 

fGJaguef 
Hffirt ' 

Ofoftn 



Just a Minute 

of your time, to explain to you a few points : 

The Holmes Patent Straight-Bearing Skein, extra heavy. 
Hickory Axles. Oak Hubs, Spokes and Felloes. Oak Reaches, 
Poles, etc. Popular Boxes and Long Leaf Yellow Pine Bot- 
toms are all found only on the wagon manufactured by the 

Fish Bros. Wagon Co., Racine, Wis. 




Be sure you have the Trade Mark as given above on your wagon. 



Fish 




ros. Wagon Co., 

RACINE. WIS. 



Look for these Special Features : 

ST AVER LONG DISTANCE AXLES. No rattle. Dust- 
proof, light running, noiseless. Furnished with set screws in 
axle nuts to take up wear on washers. 

OPEN SPRING CUSHIONS, with 15 springs. Solid foot dash. 

STAVER PATENT 5th WHEEL, with concealed head 
clipped king bolt. Never breaks, never works loose or rattles. 
Steel stay braces. 

IMPROVED CLOSED HEAD SPRINGS. Four leaf front 
and rear, with French point lea\ ;s. Graded, oil tempered, 
very elastic, will not break. 




THE STREATOR TOP ATTACHMENT, adds $10.00 to 
the value of a buggy. Used only on Staver Buggies. Lifting a 
lever at right hand of seat lowers the top (this can be done with 
side curtains on). When standing on ground you can drop the 
top back by breaking a joint on either side, as opposite joint 
works at the same time. 

The Streator Top Attachment prevents wrenching or straining 
the top as both joints must be folded at the same time, therefore, 
adds to the life of the buggy. Send for 92-page catalogue. 



»Bg| 



THE BEST FARMER 



You may sometimes judge how 
good a farmer is by the way his 
buildings look, as well as by the 
crops he gets. 

Put some money into Devoe Lead 
& Zinc Paint ; then put the paint 
on your house or barns. 



You'll be satisfied with the looks, 
and wear ; the economy of paint. 



Next potato season remember 
C. T. Raynolds & Co. 's Paris 
Green ; ask your dealer for it. 
The bugs don't like it. 



DEVOE & RAYNOLDS CO. 

*a RANDOLPH STREET CHICAGO 

FULTON AND WILLIAM STREETS - - - NEW YORK 
1214 GRAND AVENUE - KANSAS CITY 




SMFFey, Type One. 



A car for general utility and hard steady travel 

over any passable roads. 

The ideal car for touring and country service. 

Equipped with the most mechanically simple 

and reliable power plant ever placed in a 

car of this type. 

One hand motor control with no complication 

of levers, clutches, universal joints, etc., etc. 

The Anti-Repair Shop Car 

One of seven models, all described in our cata- 
log which will be mailed upon request. Address 

Thos. B. Jefifery & Co. 

KENOSHA, WIS. 



THE BEST WAGO 



IN THE 
WORLD 




Fifty-third Year 



Many a Bain Wagon is being used today by the 
grandson of the man who bought and first used it. 

Over fifty years of wagon building has enabled us 
to make — not the cheapest — but the best — and 
the best is always the cheapest in the end. 

Every Bain Wagon is made by day labor — not on 
the jobbing principle. 

Before setting of tires the felloes are all run through 
boiling Linseed oil, which prevents shrinkage and 
loosening of tires. 

A strong Written Guarantee goes with every 
wagon. Ask for further information. Address 

THE BAIN WAGON CO.. Ltd 

KENOSHA. WISCONSIN. 



Unique Finishes 
of Great Beauty 

FLORSATIN 

Is an absolutely unique floor finish. 
It is easily applied, has all the beauty 
of wax finish, but is not slippery and 
and is very durable. Send for free 
booklet, "A Prescription for Floors." 



Is a very remarkable Varnish for 
residence interiors. It dries with a 
soft, lustreless effect, bringing cut all 
the beauty of the grain. Over stains 
it gives a wonderfully handsome 
effect, and has become popular. Send 
for free booklet, "Dead-Lac Facts." 

Correspondence solicited. 



Chicago Varnish Company 

(Established 1865) 

35 DEARBORN AVENUE, CHICAGO 
22 VESEY STREET. NEW YORK 



3 Famous Bargains 

For 75c we will 
send you one of our 
Victor Stock Fountains 

— the most simple and 
reliable device for 
watering stock ever 
invented. Its action 
is automatic — it is 
heavily built and is 
practically indestruct- 
ible — it has an inside 
filter which keeps sedi- 
ment and impurities 
from the basin— it has 
no springs or small parts to get out of order. Weight, 5 lb. We 
could' nt improve it if it cost five times its price. Get one now. 

The New Idea Curry 

Comb. As flexible as a 
rag — more effective than 
the old metal ones. It 
adapts itself to any part 
of the horse — it removes 
mud and scurf without 
irritating the most sensi- 
tive skin — it is comb and 
brush combined. It is in 
use in the most exact- 
ing stables. Sent postpaid for 25c. 






Five Hooks on Two Nails. This rack is made of 5-16 steel 
and is built for hard service. It is beautifully finished in oxidized 
copper and will add to the appearance of any home. Length 21 
inches. Send us 35c and we will send one with five hooks — 
the cut shows but four. 

We have made hardware specialties for 25 years. 

ARCADE MFG. CO., Freeport, IIS. 



Thomas 
Disc Drills 




Disc, Hoe and Shoe Drills 



Hay Machinery 

Harrows 

"Thomas" Goods are Standard 



Made only by 

THE THOMAS MFG. CO. 

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO. 

Send for free circular. 



THE IMPROVED 

Cream Separator 

WON 

GOLD MEDAL 

THE HIGHEST AWARD 

AND CLARK EXPOSITION, Portland, Ore. 

All the milk of the several breeds of 
cows tested at this Exposition was run 
through the United States Separator. 

U. S. SEPARATOR received Highest Award at the 
World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. 

U. S. SEPARATOR received Gold Medal at the Paris 
International Exposition, 1900, the highest award given 
to any separator manufactured in the United States. 

U. S. SEPARATOR received Gold Medal, the highest 
award, at the Pan-American Exposition, 1901. 

U. S. SEPARATORS have received Gold Medal, or 
Highest Award at every International Exposition at 
which they have been exhibited and tests of 
Separators have been held. 

Since the PaM-&5H£RBCflH EXPOSITION 
In C90I, the U. S. Separator has held the 




The U. S. SEPARATOR 

Continues to maintain undisputed right to the title of 

The Best Cream Separator. 

These facts concern every cow owner who 
is in the market for a cream separator. To 
all such our free catalogue, telling 
all about the TJ. S. Separator, 
should be equally interesting. A 
copy is free for the asking. Address 

VEI19NI FARM MACHINE CO. 

BELLOWS FALLS, VT. 

Prompt Deliveries from 18 Dis- 
tributing Warehouses throughout 
the United States and Canada. 

MneemMMiMM.'HaiwHuiwiM^— 



Commercial National Bank 



of Chicago, 

ESTABLISHED - - - 

Capital - 

Surplus & Undivided Profits 

Deposits, Dec. 1905 



1864 

$2,000,000 

1,700,000 

36,000,000 




New Home of Commercial National Bank of Chicago 

To be Built and Owned by 

Commercial National Safe Deposit Co. 



^JJ^E WANT one good bank as a correspondent in every 
city and town in the West, North, Northwest, South 
and Southwest. 



